A High Court judge erred on the side of caution and adjourned a matter involving a Dutch national until an interpreter is available to assist him.
The decision was taken by Justice Pamela Beckles when the matter involving Harold Vernon Cristobal Sint Jago came up in the No. 5 Supreme Court.
Jago, who is from Klepperdans, Holland, is charged with possession of a 9mm Luger pistol and 13 rounds of ammunition on June 22, 2021.
However, in the process of being arraigned, it was revealed by Ken Mason, who is representing Jago in association with Queen’s Counsel Michael Lashley, that English was not the accused’s first language.
“English is not his first tongue, so if you can take your time reading the charge because he speaks Dutch,” Mason told the court.
Principal Crown Counsel Krystal Delaney, who is prosecuting the case along with Crown Counsel Danielle Mottley, then objected to him being arraigned.
“If that is the case, I don’t think that we should arraign him now,” she said.
Mottley then indicated to the court that an interpreter was present at a previous hearing to assist Jago.
When Justice Beckles enquired as to if an interpreter was present she was told none was.
“It doesn’t appear that way. The matter will have to be adjourned and we will have to ask the Registrar to assist us in getting an interpreter,” Delaney replied.
Despite attempts by Jago to plead guilty to the two offences, Justice Beckles told him an interpreter would have to be present for the court to accept his plea.
“No, no. They believe that you are in need of an interpreter so we’re going to have to adjourn in January,” Justice Beckles told him.
But Jago insisted he wanted to plead guilty and pay a fine.
“We’re not here with respect to sentencing so you can’t indicate what your punishment is going to be. There is no guarantee,” Justice Beckles informed him.
“In the past, with respect to bail, you seemed to clearly understand everything we were saying and we didn’t have an interpreter. But since this is now the arraignment, we’re going to err on the side of caution and have the interpreter present. Unfortunately, this is the last week and the interpreter most likely won’t be here this week so we will have to wait till January.”
However, the matter was stood down and after a brief delay, Delaney informed the court that an interpreter would be available on Friday.
Justice Beckles then adjourned the matter until then.
