A 28-year-old woman charged with committing criminal intimidation and possession of a sword was instructed by the Sessions Court in Putrajaya today to engage a lawyer to represent her to enable the prosecution to conduct its case without delay.

Judge Mohd Kafli Che Ali told Muhdalena Ahmad to engage a lawyer as soon as possible.

He said under the amended Criminal Procedure Code, the trial date must be fixed within 90 days from the date an accused was charged in court.

Mohd Kafli then fixed Sept 12 for case management.

Earlier, deputy public prosecutor Siti Noor Mazrah Ahmad Din told the court that the prosecution was prepared to serve the documents pertaining to the case to Muhdalena and urged the accused to engage a lawyer.

Muhdalena then told the court she had yet to appoint a lawyer and wanted to do so.

Muhdalena, of Kota Damansara, was charged on July 16 from her hospital bed in Putrajaya Hospital where she was warded after she was shot in the right thigh.

She is alleged to have committed criminal intimidation by threatening to cause grievous hurt to auxiliary policeman Ridzuan Megat Ahmad in the vicinity of Complex B of the Prime Minister’s Department in Putrajaya at about 2.30pm on July 9.

The charge against her under Section 506 of the Penal Code carries a jail term of up to seven years or a fine, or both, upon conviction.

Muhdalena, a graduate of Universiti Islam Antarabangsa, was also charged with having in her possession a sword at the same place and time. The charge under Section 7 (1) of the Corrosive and Explosive Substances and Offensive Weapons Act 1958 carries a jail term of up to two years and a fine of up to RM2,000, or both, upon conviction.

She is currently being freed on bail of RM10,000 in one surety pending her trial.

On July 9, a 47-year-old man Khalil Afandi Abd Hamid, who claimed to be  Imam Mahadi (the messiah to come at the time of the last judgement to save the world), was shot by police when he ran amok with a samurai sword at Complex B of the Prime Minister’s Department.

He succumbed to his injuries in hospital. Muhdalena was alleged to have been with him during the incident.

- Bernama