A man being escorted by sheriff's officers at provincial court in St. John's Wednesday spit in the face of a cameraman covering the proceedings.

As he was being led into court, Shawn Walbourne, 36, remarked, "Spit in your face on the way back ... better move."

And on the way out, he lived up to the threat, spitting in the face of a cameraman.

The NTV cameraman was visibly shaken as he wiped the spit from his face.

And as if that wasn't bad enough, reporters learned something else about Walbourne: he has hepatitis-C.

After the incident, the cameraman went to RNC headquarters to give a statement.

This is the third such incident in recent memory.

Two years ago, when a man was sentenced for his crimes, he had four months added to his time for spitting on a Telegram reporter.

The judge in that case, Robert Hyslop, said it was necessary to send "the message that the media are the eyes and ears of the public in court, and must not be intimidated from doing their job."

Walbourne is back in court next Tuesday on break and enter charges — and possibly a new charge of assault for the spitting incident.