Re: Rhino Poaching: Arrests, Prosecutions & Sentencing
Posted: Sun May 05, 2013 10:16 pm
Interpreter in rhino horn case ‘compromised’
May 5 2013 at 04:01pm
By WARDA MEYER
Cape Town - The Western Cape justice department has revealed that a Vietnamese interpreter sourced to assist the Khayelitsha Priority Court in one of the Western Cape’s biggest illegal rhino horn cases was believed to have been “compromised”.
This comes after the Vietnamese accused, Xuan Binh Dang, 25, and Huong Giang Chu, 32, had their case temporarily struck from the court roll last week after the State failed to provide an interpreter.
The men were caught with a dozen rhino horns, including one so big it had to be cut in half to be hidden in their luggage.
They were nabbed while on a bus en route to Cape Town in November 2010, during a routine police search operation at a roadblock near Beaufort West, and charged with possession of rhino horn.
The men were imprisoned, and Hishaam Mohamed, provincial head of Justice, said on Saturday they had not been released, as was earlier reported, when the rhino case was struck temporarily from the roll.
They appeared in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court three days ago, on other charges relating to the contravention of the Immigration Act after being charged with passport irregularities under section 49. That case was postponed to tomorrow – again, for want of an interpreter.
Weekend Argus has learnt that the charges in respect of the rhino horn are likely be reinstated against the men.
Mohamed said on Saturday that “some of the interpreters” who offered their services had allegedly been “compromised, so the Justice Department did not want to make use of them”.
He added that the challenges faced by the department in obtaining Vietnamese interpreters included:
* The interpreters were often suspected of being influenced by those connected to the accused, and in some instances bribes were offered.
* Others did not pass security checks, raising further questions about whether they had also been compromised.
* Vietnamese interpreters sourced in South Africa were often unwilling to assist.
In the Khayelitsha case, Mohamed said, attempts to secure interpreters who helped in a similar case in Gauteng found them either unavailable or unwilling to assist.
With regard to the interpreter involved in the Khayelitsha case, the department was concerned about security, and non-compliance in respect of tax provisions.
While another interpreter had been sourced in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, it would take at least another two weeks to obtain the necessary work permit and visas.
Mohamed said the department viewed rhino smuggling cases in a very serious light, and that the Khayelitsha matter was being dealt with at a senior-management level in the province.
Meanwhile, over the weekend the department obtained the services of a Vietnamese interpreter from Kenya for tomorrow’s case, thanks to the assistance of an NGO.
“Cost will not be a deterrent in our fight against rhino poaching,” Mohamed said.
On the issue of the NPA considering reinstating rhino poaching charges, Western Cape NPA spokesman Eric Ntabazalila said any decision would only be taken after the men had appeared in court tomorrow on the immigration charges.
warda.meyer@inl.co.za
Weekend Argus
May 5 2013 at 04:01pm
By WARDA MEYER
Cape Town - The Western Cape justice department has revealed that a Vietnamese interpreter sourced to assist the Khayelitsha Priority Court in one of the Western Cape’s biggest illegal rhino horn cases was believed to have been “compromised”.
This comes after the Vietnamese accused, Xuan Binh Dang, 25, and Huong Giang Chu, 32, had their case temporarily struck from the court roll last week after the State failed to provide an interpreter.
The men were caught with a dozen rhino horns, including one so big it had to be cut in half to be hidden in their luggage.
They were nabbed while on a bus en route to Cape Town in November 2010, during a routine police search operation at a roadblock near Beaufort West, and charged with possession of rhino horn.
The men were imprisoned, and Hishaam Mohamed, provincial head of Justice, said on Saturday they had not been released, as was earlier reported, when the rhino case was struck temporarily from the roll.
They appeared in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court three days ago, on other charges relating to the contravention of the Immigration Act after being charged with passport irregularities under section 49. That case was postponed to tomorrow – again, for want of an interpreter.
Weekend Argus has learnt that the charges in respect of the rhino horn are likely be reinstated against the men.
Mohamed said on Saturday that “some of the interpreters” who offered their services had allegedly been “compromised, so the Justice Department did not want to make use of them”.
He added that the challenges faced by the department in obtaining Vietnamese interpreters included:
* The interpreters were often suspected of being influenced by those connected to the accused, and in some instances bribes were offered.
* Others did not pass security checks, raising further questions about whether they had also been compromised.
* Vietnamese interpreters sourced in South Africa were often unwilling to assist.
In the Khayelitsha case, Mohamed said, attempts to secure interpreters who helped in a similar case in Gauteng found them either unavailable or unwilling to assist.
With regard to the interpreter involved in the Khayelitsha case, the department was concerned about security, and non-compliance in respect of tax provisions.
While another interpreter had been sourced in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, it would take at least another two weeks to obtain the necessary work permit and visas.
Mohamed said the department viewed rhino smuggling cases in a very serious light, and that the Khayelitsha matter was being dealt with at a senior-management level in the province.
Meanwhile, over the weekend the department obtained the services of a Vietnamese interpreter from Kenya for tomorrow’s case, thanks to the assistance of an NGO.
“Cost will not be a deterrent in our fight against rhino poaching,” Mohamed said.
On the issue of the NPA considering reinstating rhino poaching charges, Western Cape NPA spokesman Eric Ntabazalila said any decision would only be taken after the men had appeared in court tomorrow on the immigration charges.
warda.meyer@inl.co.za
Weekend Argus
