Mandarin translator used by defence not qualified, says judge in shoplifter case
David Chen, seen in November 2009, is charged with assault and forcible confinement. (CBC) The trial of a Toronto grocer charged with assaulting and illegally confining a thief in his store came to a sudden halt Monday because the presiding judge determined the Mandarin interpreter was not up to the required standard.
David Chen and two employees — his cousin and his nephew — are charged with assault and forcible confinement.
The case received national attention when they were arrested in May 2009 after catching a man who had tried to steal from Chen's store in the downtown Chinatown district.
On Monday, shortly after the trial began, Ontario provincial court Judge Ramez Khawly told the court the Chinese interpreter was not qualified.
"His Honour had said there was not a fully accredited Mandarin interpreter in Ontario, which seems to me to be ridiculous, given there is a large Chinese community," said Peter Lindsay, the lawyer representing the three defendants.
"People have a basic right under Section 14 of the Charter [of Rights and Freedoms] to have proper interpretation."
Khawly told the court there are three conditionally accredited Mandarin court interpreters in Ontario but none are in Toronto and none were available Monday.
However later in Monday, the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General, contradicted that figure and said there are only two conditionally accredited Mandarin interpreters in the province.
Court was told the services of one of those conditionally accredited interpreters has been secured for Wednesday, when the trial is set to continue.
Conditional accreditation is granted to individuals who have taken the province's interpreter exam but did not achieve the mark of 70 per cent required for full accreditation.
"It's disturbing that the judge suggests that a conditionally accredited interpreter should be used when what that means is that that's an interpreter who failed the examination — didn't reach the 70 per cent that is required," provincial NDP justice critic Peter Kormos said outside the courthouse. "That's disturbing in and of itself."
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