A man accused of murdering a delivery driver in Melbourne stripped naked and exposed himself on a video link after a magistrate muted his audio during a court hearing.
Roberto Urbano, 51, appeared before Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Monday over the death of father-of-two Jianming Feng, 47. Mr Feng died from an alleged knife wound to the chest while working for HungryPanda in Melbourne's central business district on Friday night, and Urbano was arrested afterwards.
Courtroom disruption
The hearing took an unexpected turn when prosecutors requested orders regarding injuries Urbano had sustained. He interrupted proceedings to complain about his condition, asking the court, "Can I talk to you, please? I'm the one who has injury. I have injury in my hand."
Magistrate John Livitsanos told Urbano to stay quiet before muting the audio feed. "I've got your lawyers here before me today, and they will talk to me about your case and indicate to me what they want to do at the moment," the magistrate said. "Just stay there... We'll get through this aspect pretty quickly."
Being silenced sent the defendant into a fury. He hopped up onto a stool, pulled down his prison-issue jumpsuit, and exposed himself on camera, gesticulating wildly before the magistrate ordered the screen feed to be cut.
Incident details
Mr Feng was allegedly attacked while collecting a meal order in the city centre. Emergency services were called to Fredrick Way just before 8.10pm, but despite CPR efforts, the 47-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene. A second man in his 30s was found nearby with a suspected stab wound shortly afterwards and was taken to hospital.
The court heard prosecutors sought "forensic photography of the accused's injuries as well as a [buccal] swab" — an application granted with consent after the magistrate stated he was satisfied "on the balance of probabilities that the respondent is a relevant suspect" and "there are reasonable grounds the respondent has committed the offence".
The approved medical exam covers digital photographs of an injury to Urbano's right hand and a search for marks that "are likely linked to the altercation", alongside a mouth swab to secure a DNA profile. Prosecutors were granted 16 weeks to assemble the brief of evidence, which involves reviewing extensive CCTV footage.
Family tributes and fundraiser
Mr Feng's wife, Xu, said she discovered her husband's fate after spotting video clips online of a man collapsing outside a restaurant. "At first, I couldn't believe it. But when I saw the footage, I recognised his delivery bag," she told 7News. "We video-called almost every day, so I knew exactly what bag he carried. I recognised his face straight away."
Tributes have poured in for Mr Feng, remembered by his family as cheerful, friendly, and hardworking. HungryPanda said it was "deeply saddened" and had "established a dedicated response team". A community fundraiser launched to assist his family has collected more than $430,000 (£221,000).
Urbano made no application for bail and was remanded in custody until April.
