A translator hired to facilitate the RM100 million civil suit filed by the family of slain Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu has been approved by the High Court in Shah Alam.
Lawyers representing Altantuya's former lover Razak Baginda, and the government, had challenged the competency of Enkhjin Batbilig, as a translator.
This is as Enkhjin, 31, had not had any formal training as a translator nor had she any experience in translating legal matters.
However, the Mongolian national, who is an accountant by training, said she had acted as a translator for two Mongolian companies in formal and informal settings, as well as translated financial reports.
She had also done her all her tertiary studies, including her Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) course in English.
She had done her ACCA at Sunway University.
Meanwhile, the defence also questioned if she was compromised as she had spent two hours yesterday with Altantuya's family and their lawyers.
Enkhjin, however, said she had not had any interactions with the plaintiffs beyond reading their witness statements.
She also said that the plaintiff's lawyers from Karpal Singh & Co had merely briefed her on legal terms that she needed to be familiar with and how to conduct herself in court.
The plaintiff's lead counsel Ramkarpal Singh said the defence's allegations were "serious" but "trite".
Judge Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera ruled that Enkhjin was competent as a translator.
He also ruled that meeting with the plaintiff and their lawyers does not make her biased in any way.
He ordered Enkhjin to make additions to the finalised witness statements of the plaintiffs, to include Mongolian translations of the English wording, which the defence can then scrutinise.
The trial continues tomorrow, with the expected testimony of Altantuya's father Setev Shaariibuu.
Razak was represented by Manjit Singh Dhillon, while deputy public prosecutor Norina Bahadun submitted for the government.
The two other named in the suit, former police commandos Azilah Hadri, and Sirul Azhar Umar, were unrepresented.
Altantuya's father, her two children and one other filed the civil suit in 2007, a year after her death. - Mkini
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