Deterioration Of The Legal Intellect – IV
By Basil Fernando -April 15, 2015
Basil Fernando
Deterioration of the legal intellect: (4) – UNHRC finds fault with the police, the forensic pathologist, the Attorney General, and the Supreme Court
A determination issued by the United Nation’s Human Rights Committee on 1st April 2015, reveals extraordinary failures on the part of Sri Lankan State agencies – the police, the forensic pathologist, the Attorney General, and the Supreme Court – regarding a custodial death that took place at the Moragahahena Police Station on 26th July 2003. The following Committee Members participated in the examination of the case in question: Yadh Ben Achour, Lazhari Bouzid, Sarah Cleveland, Olivier de Frouville, Yuji Iwasawa, Ivana Jelic, Duncan Muhumuza Laki, Photini Pazartis, Mauro Politi, Sir Nigel Rodley, Victor Manuel Rodriguez-Rescia, Fabian Omar Salvioli, Dheerujlall B. Seetulsingh, Anja Seibert-Fohr, Yuval Shany, Konstantine Vardzelashvili, and Margo Waterval.
The facts of the case are that Sunil Hemachandra (Sunil) was once a healthy and a literate man with no criminal record. He was a daily paid labourer, mostly engaged in tapping of rubber and climbing trees for plucking coconuts.
His misfortunes began, ironically, when he won a lottery ticket of a little over 3 million rupees (approximately USD $25,000). Through the lottery agent, the Moragahahena police learned about Sunil having won the lottery; the Officer-in-Charge of the Moragahahena Police Station sent a police officer with the message that Sunil should arrive at the Station, along with his ticket, and stay there for his own safety. Sunil did not comply this request. Instead, he went with his mother and aunt, en-cashed his winning ticket, and immediately deposited it in his aunt’s bank account. Thereafter, he bought a van for 1.2 million rupees, a three-wheeler for one of his nieces, and gave 5,000 rupees to his nephew as a gift.
A few weeks later, a team of police officers from the Moragahahena Police Station came looking for Sunil; they inquired from his aunt whether Sunil had spent his lottery money. One of the police officers warned, “his [Sunil’s] happiness would not last long”. The police officers left a message for Sunil to report to the Moragahahena Police Station.
On the same day, Sunil, accompanied by an acquaintance, Chanaka, and along with the son of the lottery agent, Lionel, went to the police station. At the Police Station, one of the police officers (a Sub Inspector) requested Sunil to pay money as “support”. Sunil had replied that the money was not with him and declined to pay. The same police officer then insisted on the payment of 25,000 Rupees “to cover the expenses of a procession of the Vidyaratne Temple in Horana”, to which Sunil agreed. Read More
