The Preliminary Inquiry (PI) into the murder charge against Anand Narine and Darrol Compton, the two men accused of killing Babita Sarjou six years ago, continued yesterday, with the court having to reschedule the slated Skype evidence session.
Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan resumed the PI after a delay of a few weeks.
Evidence was expected to be taken from Dr. Renato Teodoro Ferreira Paranaiba, the Brazilian doctor who played a key role in the case, through the digital medium of Skype.
A Brazilian translator, a member of the Federal Brazilian Police, who works as a liaison officer in Guyana, was expected to translate the evidence taken from the doctor.
After a two-hour cross-examination of the translator by attorney Ronald Trotman, in association with Hubert Rodney, in relation to what qualified him to translate during the PI, the Chief Magistrate deemed the translator competent to translate from Portuguese to English, and from English to Portuguese. Trotman, however, requested his own interpreter, to be able to determine the accuracy of the translator’s work. The Chief Magistrate noted that the court had already deemed the prosecutor’s translator fit to translate, but later granted the request that the attorney could have his own translator next to him during the taking of the evidence.
Subsequently, the matter was adjourned to June 12, when the PI will resume with the taking of evidence from Paranaiba via Skype.
Narine and Compton were charged with the murder of Sarjou, which occurred on November 4, 2010.
