KUALA LUMPUR: After coming under intense criticism over how journalists were barred from covering Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi's daughter and son-in-law's court cases for defying the Movement Control Order (MCO), the Federal Court Chief Registrar's Office today attempted to douse the controversy.
In a statement, the registrar claimed that the magistrate's court in Putrajaya was "not aware" of the presence of the media covering the cases on that day.
"After checking, we would like to inform that there was no restriction for the media from covering cases on that day.
"Apart from the two cases, there were also several other cases that had been fixed for hearing. There were prosecuting officers, police and members of the public in the courtroom."
"This made the courtroom cramped and there was no social distancing. The court then told the public to leave to ensure compliance with the social distancing guidelines issued by the Health Ministry," the statement read.
The registrar's office then went on to claim that the court "did not realise" the presence of the media who were there to cover the cases.
"Therefore, there is no issue of media not being allowed to cover the cases.
"The courts will always ensure everyone is given equal access to justice, including the media."
It was reported that journalists covering the court cases involving Datuk Nurul Hidayah Ahmad Zahid and her husband Saiful Nizam Yusoff yesterday were told to leave the courtroom just before their cases were called.
However, friends and family members of the accused were allowed in the public gallery during the proceedings.
Earlier today, the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) expressed regret over what had happened at the court with its president Chin Sung Chew seeking an explanation from the judiciary on the matter.
Both the accused were subsequently fined RM800 each for breaching the MCO even though the maximum fine for the offence is RM1,000 or six months imprisonment.
The fine imposed on the duo has eventually led to more controversy with people questioning why most others who committed similar offence had to fork out the maximum fine of RM1,000.
Meanwhile, the registrar's office also touched on another controversial case where the accused, single mother Lisa Christina Balan, was initially slapped with a month's jail term for violating the MCO.
However, she was eventually released after serving eight days in jail when the sentence was reviewed and Lisa Christina's sentence was reduced to RM1,000 fine.
Incensed with the disparity in her sentence and that meted out on Nurul Hidayah and Saiful Nizam, Lisa Christina took to social media to voice her disappointment, garnering widespread support from the public and social media users.
The registrar's office responded to this in the statement by stating:
"With regards to the sentence imposed by the Magistrates' Court on Mrs Lisa Christina a/p Balan, the High Court had exercised its power and reviewed it by replacing the jail sentence with a fine."