HCM CITY — Language barrier is the biggest obstacle in investigation of crimes involving foreign suspects, said officials of the HCM City People’s Procuracy.

At a conference yesterday on investigating criminal cases involving foreign suspects, procuracy officials said the language barrier prevents legal agencies from investigating suspects’ background and relatives, and hinders communications between defendants and their attorneys.

International collaboration is much needed in the investigation of criminal cases with foreign suspects, said conference participants. Vũ Xuân Nhuệ, head of the procuracy’s division in charge of economic crime, said more judicial agreements should be signed between countries.

Vũ Thanh Lâm, deputy chief justice of the criminal court under the HCM City People’s Court, said Việt Nam should establish and strengthen collaborations with international investigative organisations, such as Interpol, to ask for their support from the initial phases of the investigation.

He requested that central judiciary authorities issue guidelines on handling foreign suspects whose backgrounds, relatives, and criminal records cannot be tracked. It should also issue regulations on the procedures for requesting interpreters in  those cases, he said.

City data from 2014 to 2016 show that the People’s Procuracy prosecuted a total of 108 criminal cases involing 146 foreign suspects from 25 countries and territories, who violated 18 different regulations. The city’s People’s Court sentenced seven defendants to death, four to life imprisonment, and eight to more than 15 years of imprisonment. — VNS