Judge has last word on abilities of interpreter after complaints

A part-time interpreter recruited for the Immigration Tower murder and arson trial was vindicated yesterday after a judge found her 'thoroughly competent' in the Hoklo dialect.

Mr Justice Thomas Gall threw his weight behind the interpreter, who was hired to translate Cantonese into Hoklo, the dialect of five of seven right-of-abode claimants on trial.

On Monday, the first day of an expected 50-day trial, she was accused of speaking in a Chiuchow dialect, which the five said they had difficulty understanding.

The judge postponed the case until yesterday morning, when he said: 'She is a fully competent and proper Hoklo interpreter.'

He told the Court of First Instance the dialect was the interpreter's native tongue and her ability had been certified.

The five had complained that her accent differed from their Hoifung accent, but Mr Justice Gall noted that Scots, Americans and Britons spoke with different accents, but 'we all speak English'.