PETALING JAYA: A freelance photographer claimed trial to two charges of voluntarily causing hurt to two fashion designers, popularly known as Razman and Razmi, with a camera at an awards ceremony at a hotel on Wednesday.
Muhammad Imran Khairil, 30, said he understood the charges read out to him before magistrate Farah Azura Mohd Saad.
Both charges read that he had injured Azmi Abdul Rahman, 47, and Raziman Din, 53, with the camera as a weapon. He allegedly committed both offences at 8.45pm and 9pm at the hotel in Persiaran Bandar Utama on Jan 8.
The offences under Section 324 of the Penal Code carry a maximum 10-year jail term, a fine or whipping upon conviction.
Deputy public prosecutor Nurul Husna Amran urged the court to set bail at RM8,000 for each charge.
In mitigation, defence lawyer Datuk Suraj Singh asked the court to impose a minimal bail sum as it was to ensure his client's attendance in court and not a punishment.
"He is innocent until proven guilty. He had cooperated with the police, did not try to abscond and there is no evidence to suggest that he would skip proceedings. He had pleaded not guilty as there are issues that he wants to raise.
"He is a freelance worker with no steady income. He cannot afford the bail sum proposed and asks for a lower amount," he said.
The magistrate set RM3,500 in one surety for each charge. She also barred him from going near or harassing the victim until the case is concluded.
Feb 28 was set for document submission. Suraj was assisted by lawyer Kailash Sharma.
Razman and Razmi, best known as the men behind celebrity entrepreneur Datuk Seri Vida's colourful outfits, sustained injuries on their cheeks after they were allegedly hit by the photographer with his camera when a reporter was interviewing Vida outside the hotel ballroom.
Petaling Jaya police chief Assistant Commissioner Shahrulnizam Ja'afar said the photographer was arrested at the scene and the camera seized.
He said the incident was believed to have stemmed from a personal issue.