News
Mistaken identity lands Lankan-born Aussie in jail
A mistaken identity and the Kandy Police, together with the local Magistrate, recently locked up a Sri Lankan born Australian citizen here on holiday, to eight days at the Bogambara Remand Prison.
What was to be a holiday with his family ‘back home’, turned into a nightmare for Felix Ranjith Sirimanne, 67, a former Head Prefect at Royal College, basketball captain and rugby coloursman. After spending eight harrowing days in the Bogambara Remand Prison, he was, this week, discharged from proceedings, after former Royal College rugby captain and one-time Attorney General C.R. De Silva PC appeared in court sayinghe as appearing for a friend, a fellow rugby player. He accused the Kandy Police of arresting an innocent man who had come to Sri Lanka on holiday with his family, on trumped up charges of collecting money to send persons to Japan.
Holiday plans shattered: Mr. Sirimanne
Mr. Sirimanne told the Sunday Times yesterday, while packing his bags to return to Australia, that his lawyers were preparing a civil action against the Kandy Police for their ham-handed conduct.
“I was on a one-month long holiday when I was arrested on September 26. I was at a bookshop in Kandy town, when a policeman walked up to me and demanded my National Identity Card (NIC). I explained that I was an Australian citizen and produced my driving lincence to prove my identity,” Mr. Sirimanne said. He had left Sri Lanka before NICs came into operation.
Mr. Sirmanne had been taken to the Minor Offence Branch of the Kandy Police and told that he was wanted in connection with a case where Rs. 1.3 million had been collected from two persons from Anuradhapura in October 2010, promising jobs and safe haven in Japan, with a working visa.
“I was taken to my relatives place where I had my passport. I explained to them I had no involvement in the case, and that, at the time of the purported crime, he had been in Australia. I was taken back to the Police, detained overnight, produced before the Kandy Chief Magistrate, and remanded for one week”, he said.
He was produced before an identification parade and identified by a person from Polonnaruwa, as the person who had collected the money.
“It was two three-wheel drivers who had alerted the police that I was the person who collected the money. They took photographs of me and had send it to the person in Polonnaruwa, who identified me,” he said.
He said, he spent sleepless nights with six other alleged offenders at the Bogambara Remand Prison, and was unable to take his medication as well.
“My wife was given just five minutes to speak to me every day. I have played rugger for my college as well as for Kandy Sports Club, but the rush to meet with family members, in a limited space of time, was the worst scrum I have faced,” he said.
“I never expected the Sri Lanka Police to be so unprofessional. If this could happen to me, I could imagine the plight of an ordinary person with no friends nor legal counsel for assistance,” he said.
He said, soon after he was released on bail, he had to rush back to Australia to report to work, and thereafter, take two more weeks of leave, to return to Sri Lanka for the impending civil case.
“It turned out be a costly holiday,” he said. He said he will be filing a Fundamental Rights cases against the OIC of the Minor Offence branch, Kandy Police IP K.D.S. Subasinghe. IP Subasinghe told the Sunday Times that he was acting on a complaint.
Mr. Sirimanne is the Territory Manager at Imperial Tobacco in Sydney, Australia. Mr. de Silva appearing for Mr. Sirimanne told the Magistrate that vital information including details obtained from the Immigration Department about his dates of arrival in the country had been suppressed to courts by the Police .
Mr. de Silva commended the special unit of the Inspector General of Police which followed the case and arrested the actual suspect involved in the fraud. He was identified as Channa Wijewardena, a regular visitor to Japan.
Follow @timesonlinelk
Related Posts:
Alleged cheating woman remanded, police told to follow procedureRemanding a woman who was the wife of a well-known hotelier in Kandy, on charges of cheating several women of ...
Nishantha says he got millions, wrist watch as gifts from sonsSriLankan Airlines Chairman Nishantha Wickremasinghe yesterday declared that the foreign currency amounting to Rs. 4 million and the gold watch ...
Lustful cops seek sex as bribeThe Commission to Investigate Bribery or Corruption has been forced to cope with a new vice in the Police – ...
Buddha statue case suspects remandedA second suspect in the case of attempting to sell a gold Buddha statue with an archeological value for half ...
CP Health Minister remanded on assault and abuse chargesThe Health Minister of the Central Province was remanded yesterday for allegedly abusing the Provincial Health Director and allegedly assaulting ...