KATHMANDU, Sept 2: Nepalis in Hong Kong held a demonstration in front of a court on Wednesday demanding the trial in a case related to ´murder´ of Nepali-origin permanent resident of Hong Kong be conducted in English. [break]
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Dambar Ale said from Hong Kong that the Nepali community was angry after the Coroner´s Court decided to conduct the trial in Chinese language. The trial in the case related to the murder of Dil Bahadur Limbu, 31, who was shot dead by the police will begin on September 7.
The organizers, Hong Kong Nepalese Federation and Unison Hong Kong, held demonstrations in front of the Eastern Magistracy Building and condemned the decision through a common declaration. The demonstrators holding placards in both Chinese and English that read ´respect minority´s language´ demanded use of English in the trial, saying that the victim´s wife, family and other Nepali attending the proceedings do not understand Chinese.
The court has promised to provide Chinese to English and English to Nepali interpreters for the convenience of the victims. But the declaration says the actual meaning of a sentence can be lost in translations and the course of court proceedings can also lengthen and increase the anxiety of the family.
“The court´s decision to conduct the proceedings in Chinese is culturally insensitive and discriminatory,” the declaration stated.
Limbu, a permanent resident of Hong Kong, died on March 17 after a police officer -- who has not been named -- shot him in the head at Ho Man Tin park. Police say Limbu was armed with a wooden chair and refused to stop attacking the officer despite repeated warnings.
There were huge demonstrations in March demanding an independent commission of inquiry over the death but the government didn´t relent.
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