A man charged with murdering a food delivery driver in central Melbourne was removed from a court video link after exposing himself during a brief appearance.
Roberto Urbano, 51, appeared before Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Monday charged with the murder of Feng Jianming, 47, and intentionally causing serious injury to another delivery rider.
The court was hearing details of Urbano’s diagnosis of schizophrenia when he stood on a chair in his holding room, pulled down his trousers and exposed himself to the camera. Magistrate John Livitsanos immediately removed him from the hearing.
Urbano, of Footscray, had appeared agitated throughout the hearing, pacing, fidgeting and attempting to leave. When Feng’s injuries were discussed, he interrupted to say he had been hurt.
“I have injury on my hand,” Urbano said.
He was remanded in custody until March.
Delivery driver killed near Queen Victoria Market
Feng had been working for the food delivery platform HungryPanda on Friday night when he and another rider confronted a man who was allegedly tampering with their bicycles near Queen Victoria Market.
Police were called to the Chongqing Chicken Pot City restaurant in Frederick Way shortly after 8pm. Feng was found critically injured and died at the scene despite paramedics performing CPR. The other rider, aged 34, was allegedly found nearby with stab wounds and taken to hospital in a serious condition.
Police allege Urbano left the scene before being arrested in Footscray on Saturday morning.
Feng’s death has prompted anger in Melbourne’s Asian community and renewed scrutiny of the safety and working conditions faced by delivery riders. Hundreds of people attended a rally at the State Library on Saturday night to honour him.
His wife, Xu Hongfeng, and their adult children, Yawei and Changhui, spoke of their heartbreak from their home in China. Xu said Feng had worked tirelessly to send money to his family, including his elderly parents, and had not returned home for nine years to save the cost of airfares.
“He wanted to save the money and continue working,” she said through a translator. “But he promised that when our son got married, he would definitely return. That was the plan. He would come home for our son’s wedding, and then we could finally be together as a family. We thought we only had to wait another year or two.”
An online fundraiser for Feng’s family has received more than 420,000 dollars in donations.
Melbourne Lord Mayor Nick Reece, who attended the vigil, said he had spoken to HungryPanda management and offered to hold a roundtable on the safety of delivery riders in the city.
“Delivery riders have to be some of the most underappreciated people in our city,” he said. “They deliver our meals, our packages, rain, hail or shine seven days a week and are often not well paid… and, as we have seen, their jobs are very risky as well, not just from other vehicles on the road but from horrible attacks like the one we saw last night.”
