Translators summoned to help in theft case hearing

Dubai: A Vietnamese man accused of theft had to have two translators present in court when the charges were read out to him, it was the second case of its kind in a week.

The incident happened at the Dubai Court of First Instance when presiding judge Abu Nasr Othman spoke to the court's English translator in Arabic. The latter translated the suspect's charges into English to the Vietnamese translator who had been brought in by the Vietnamese Consulate.

The Vietnamese translator then conveyed the charges to the suspect, H.W.

H.W., has been charged with stealing Dh8,000 worth of electric cables from the company where he used to work. He was also charged with damaging the cables after he was caught by one of the company's workers.

"I do not know anything about this charge. I was heading to the market when I found a bag which contained the electric cables so I picked it and left," H.W. said.

Earlier, a Vietnamese was sentenced to three months in jail followed by deportation for stealing electric cables from a Jebel Ali company.