KUCHING, MALAYSIA: A defence counsel suffered a swollen jaw after he was punched in a magistrate's court on Monday.

The assault took place soon after magistrate Dayang Ellyn Narisa Abang Ahmad stood down the proceedings.

Lim Ching Yeong, 23, was in the witness stand when co-accused Lim Heng King, 58, walked out of the dock and approached him.

Seeing this, Ching Yeong's counsel, Lim Lian Kee, 53, told Heng King not to speak to Ching Yeong about his evidence.

Annoyed over the lawyer's instruction, Heng King punched Lian Kee in front of everyone present.

When the magistrate returned, Lian Kee applied for a postponement of the case so that he could lodge a police report. Ellyn adjourned the case to May 14.

Ching Yeong and Heng King were charged with possession of weapons during a gang fight at a hawker stall in Jalan Petanak on Feb 22 last year.