A presiding judge in China has caused an uproar after appearing to have used foul language inside the court before expelling two lawyers for making objections.

A viral video showed Jiang Xiaoma of the Haikou Intermediate People's Court losing control and yelling at two lawyers who argued the prosecution had lumped up irrelevant evidence. In the video, Jiang appeared to lecture the defense lawyers before expelling them.

“If you don’t agree with the way cross-examination is done here, please just go away,” Jiang was quoted as saying by local media.

Netizens have accused the judge of ignoring proper procedures and having disdain for the rule of law.

“The court is where the dignity of the law is protected, and punishing criminals and defending the suspects should both be placed side by side under the law,” one netizen said.

One of the lawyers, Li Changqing, said he had only asked Jiang to pace out the presentation of evidence so that the defense could carry out the cross-examination.

An unnamed staff member of the district’s judiciary said an investigation of the incident was underway and a report would be made available to local authorities.

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