Friday, December 20, 2013

Mendis Arrack sponsors Namal baby’s car race

Thursday, 19 December 2013

It is Mendis Arrack Company, of which a majority of shares is owned by minister Johnston Fernando that had sponsored the Colombo night races carnival by MP Namal Rajapaksa, eldest son of the president.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa mutters 24 hours a day about ‘Mathata Thitha’ (full stop to alcohol), but the tickets for the race had overleaf ‘sponsored by Mendis.’

It is not yet clear which ministry supervises this car race, although it is Jayaratne Herath’s public recreation ministry or the sports ministry that should have to bear that responsibility. However, the cars that are on this race are being given import duty relief, the Colombo Municipal Council exempts the race from entertainment tax and the army prepares the Colombo roads for the races.

The ‘Rajapaksa princes’ use public money at will and are not accountable to anyone over their spending. It is ironical that not even the public recreation minister had been given an invitation to witness the ‘Carlton car races’ being held at a loss of millions of rupees for the country.

The patriotic Jathika Hela Urumaya, Bodu Bala Sena etc. may be crying out day and night for a country free of alcohol and gambling, but they keep unawares over such extravaganzas being held with sponsorship by alcohol companies. There is a justifiable question as to whether the involvement of the president’s eldest son nullifies everything else.

Namal hit & run: Namal’s race mania kills one and permanently disables another: His racing enthusiasts flee

(Lanka-e-News- 19.Dec.2013, 11.30PM) Sri Lanka's one and only synthetic lawyer Namal Rajapakse who participated in the night motor car race held in Colombo last Sunday , had when racing at Kotadeniya on 8 th night (Sunday) , in preparation for the night race in Colombo been responsible for the killing of an innocent individual while another who was also a victim of the accident has been rendered invalid for life , according to reports reaching Lanka e news inside information division.

Namal Rajapakse who was on his way to Colombo from Divulapitiya along with two other supporting vehicles closely behind his were traveling at reckless speed .when this fatal accident occurred. At Koradaminda belonging to Kotadeniyawa police division , one of the vehicles of his fleet following him had run over two innocent pedestrians on the road .

Namal Rajapakse and his group who saw the two victims being run over by his vehicle fleet behind , have stopped and looked at the victims for a while and then fled leaving the victims to die on the road, and for the police to look after the rest .

A by stander who witnessed this fatal accident had noted down the number of the Black color defender vehicle which ran over the two innocent victims. Its number is KD 9976. The victims are S A Samarasiri and R S Ruparatne alias Nilame.

The condition of both victims were critical , and their feet had to be amputated immediately after admission to Divulapitiya hospital. After their lives perilously hanging by a thread for about a week , Samarasiri passed away today (18). Ruparatne who works as a‘ Baas’ is still in hospital.

After the accident, following telephone calls from Namal , the SSPs , ASPs of Divulapitiya , Mihirigama, Kotadeniyawa police divisions and a police team have visited the scene and made a strong bid to suppress the tragedy . They are even now moving heaven and earth to achieve that dastardly goal . Besides , they are not allowing anybody to meet the victims in hospital.

It is most deplorable that despite there being information of the hit and run vehicle that caused the accident, and one victim has died most tragically , the police have refused to take down the complaint.

Even when a dog dies in an accident it is common sight to see other dogs expressing their sorrow by crowding around the dead dog , licking the carcass and barking at humans who caused the death. In contrast , our police ‘wolves’ , haven’t even that amount of dog love for their own kind though these police groups have all the other qualities of pariah dogs . Even to call these pariah police officers as ‘wolves’ based on the maxim ‘a man is a wolf to man’, is an insult to the wolves for , the latter are kind to each other among themselves.

Long ago when King Elara’s son (prince) was racing in a horse cart , the latter ran over a calf on the road causing its death. The mother cow overwhelmed with grief tolled the bell attracting the King’s attention to her sorrow, whereupon the King in order to make up for the injustice committed by his son , and to dispense justice to the grieving cow beheaded his son. This is an ancient legendary tale .

Of course no one in Kotadeniya is demanding the decapitation of Namal the son of (MOC)King Rajapakse. They are only imploring that justice be dispensed and punishment meted out to the wrongdoers no matter who did it on the ground that no one is above the law, in this instance where one innocent individual died and another is permanently disabled all because the son of (MOC)King Rajapakse went on a fun and frolic reckless vehicle race .

Let those who are today obstructing the course of justice and disallowing punishment being meted out be warned , sooner than later the time will come when the people themselves will decapitate not only Namal’s empty worthless head but will not also hesitate to sever the entire bodies of all those of the Rajapakse lineage if justice is not dispensed duly.

WikiLeaks: Diaspora Funding Intended For Tamil People Goes To LTTE: Gota To US

December 20, 2013

“Money collected by the LTTE among the Tamil Diaspora in the U.S. is allowing LTTE-sponsored violence to continue, FM Bogollagama emphasized. ‘We want to de-escalate the violence so that the political agenda gets out,’ but money raised in Europe, Canada and the U.S. is used to purchase arms and ‘hit us at home,’ he stated. Without the sources of foreign funds, the LTTE would be isolated among its own community because of the civilian casualties they inflict, he argued. He explained that the GSL would continue to raise this issue ‘because we want our position to be clear.’” US Embassy Manila (Philippines) informed Washington.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa

A classified diplomatic cable which details a meeting the US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte had with Gotabaya Rajapaksa on July 31, 2007. The Colombo Telegraph found the related US diplomatic cable from the WikiLeaks database.

“Defense Secretary Rajapaksa clarified that the Tamil Diaspora has been funding the LTTE not because of radicalism, but because of a desire to make financial contributions to their homeland. The Diaspora thinks the money they send goes to the Tamil community, but in reality it goes for purchasing weapons, he said.” the Embassy further wrote.

Related story;

WikiLeaks: Gota Raised Concerns About The ‘Delay’ In The Delivery Of Bushmaster Guns And Ammunition – US

WikiLeaks: Gota Requests US Law Enforcement Assistance To Address Civilian-Military Issues

Gotabaya Rajapaksa met leading weapons dealers at Dubai

[ Friday, 20 December 2013, 12:56.00 PM GMT +05:30 ]

Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa met leading weapons dealers at Marriott hotel in Dubai on Wednesday and defence secretary returned to Colombo on the same night.

Members of the Rajapaksa family engage foreign tours reveal that they face pressures from family members, suffering from cancer or family problems and engage in foreign tours.

(2nd Lead)

Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa recently visited United States of America and while on his return to SriLanka secretary met group of leading international weapons distributors at the Marriott resort at Dubai on Wednesday (18) night.

Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa owns floating armory in the Southern sea, sources said.

Indian Navy Commander Admiral D.K.Joshi recently said floating armory owned by the Lankan defence secretary in the Indian Ocean will cause security threatening to India.

He also urged to introduce proper structure on international maritime if not it would lead for illegal activities.

Defence Secretary owns high power in the country has violated the rules and regulations of the country and administrate floating armory in the Indian Ocean. International community are suspicious over such activities.

According to the diplomatic sources such activities would upraise more problems between Indian – Lankan governments.

What Gota had been doing at Dubai Marriott?

Thursday, 19 December 2013

Defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa had a secret meeting with several leading international arms suppliers at Hotel Marriott in Dubai yesterday (18), according to our sources.

On the same night after this meeting, he had left for home, said the sources.

According to reports, members of the Rajapaksa family are in the habit of citing various reasons to gain easy access to a foreign country when they are in want of overseas tours.

These reasons include - that they are being under pressure by other members of the Rajapaksa family, that they are suffering from cancer or other fatal ailment or that their links with other members of the Rajapaksa family have broken up.

Lanka denies buying UK MPs

December 19, 2013

The Sri Lankan Government has denied allegations that it had bought over some British Parliamentarians to back the Government.

Making a statement in Parliament today, External Affairs Minister Professor G.L Peiris said that several British MPs had visited the country to see for themselves the actual ground situation in the country.

However he insisted that they were not bought over as alleged by the main opposition UNP but were only on a familiarisation tour similar to familiarisation tours undertaken by Sri Lankan MPs to London.

Speaking in Parliament yesterday UNP MP Mangala Samaraweera alleged that several British Parliamentarians, including those from the ruling Conservative party have been bought over by the Government.

He said that the Government has resorted to the move after failing to win them over. The UNP MP mentioned the names of some UK MPs he claimed have been bought over.

The UNP MP, a former Foreign Minister, also accused Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma of having a secret deal with the Mahinda Rajapaksa Government.

Samaraweera had also claimed that he had confidential information a VIP delegation from Israel was in Sri Lanka during the Commonwealth summit.

Reading out the details of the private flight in the which the Israeli delegation arrived in Sri Lanka, Samaraweera questioned the purpose of the visit.

Minister Peiris said the Israeli delegation was in Sri Lanka for the Commonwealth business forum and criticized the attempt by the UNP MP to mislead the House on the issue. (Colombo Gazette)

Galle Lit Fest Founder Geoffrey Dobbs Denied Entry To Lanka

December 20, 2013

Founder of the highly popular Galle Literary Festival and Australian Citizen Geoffrey Dobbs has been denied entry into Sri Lanka this morning after being deported last month, prompting Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe to speculate in Parliament a short while ago that someone in the Rajapaksa regime may have an eye on his considerable property in the Galle District.

Geoffrey Dobbs

Dobbs who was asked by immigration authorities to leave Sri Lanka following spat with the Southern Province Governor Kumari Balasuriya just before CHOGM 2013, arrived in Colombo this morning but was not granted visa to enter the country. Dobbs had taken issue with the Australian Flag being displayed upside down during the preparations for the Commonwealth Summit in Galle and when his appeals were ignored by the Governor when he brought the matter to her notice, he proceeded to display the Sri Lankan flag upside down. The move irked the authorities who moved into high gear to deport Dobbs.

Raising the issue in Parliament, Wickremesinghe quipped: “Someone in the Government must be looking to acquire his property in Galle.”

The Opposition Leader noted that turning away an individual like Dobbs who had been a hotel operator and businessman in Sri Lanka for so long would hurt the country’s tourism industry.

After Dobbs’ deportation he had been advised to return to Sri Lanka and sort out his issues here, Wickremesinghe noted.

“But this morning he emailed me and said he had been denied entry to Sri Lanka,” Wickremesinghe told the House.

Dobbs, who was born in Britiain, was instrumental in organising the Galle Literary Festival that turned into a highly popular event for tourists and locals in Galle every January. The event, garnering high profile sponsorships like SriLankan Airlines and HSBC brought significant numbers of tourists and visitors to Galle each year. This year GLF was not held due to Dobbs’ poor health.

Sara To Take Up Sunanda Deshapriya Issue With Groundviews Editor

December 20, 2013

“I give the editor of the site the freedom to decide what goes on it. However, since Groundviews is institutionally located at CPA, if anything appears that impacts the organization, I will take the issue up with the editor,” the Executive Director, Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu told Colombo Telegraph.

Deshapriya

He made the above remarks when asked how someone has been sacked by the CPA after been found guilty of fraud is allowed to write to a CPA website.

Sunanda Deshapriya who had been associated with the CPA since 2002 was sacked on December 19, 2008.

“Deshapriya has personally returned in full the money owed to the organisation after an investigation into financial anomalies of a project he was responsible for,” Saravanamuttu said in a press statement.

Deshapriya’s articles appear in Groundviews and its Sinahala site from time to time.

English: Opens More Doors Than College Degrees

By Jagath Asoka -December 20, 2013

Dr. Jagath Asoka

An extensive knowledge of English can open more doors than a college degree. How well you speak and write is governed by your understanding ofgrammar, syntax, diction, punctuation, and pronunciation.

I have to tell two stories, one from my childhood and another from my youth. When I was around eleven-years old, I was invited to a birthday party. I do not know what kids do nowadays in Sri Lanka at birthday parties, but when we were kids we played different games. One of the games that I played on this particular evening made a big impact on my life. My friend’s sister brought a tray full of trinkets and asked us to look at them for thirty seconds; then she took away the tray and asked us to write down the items that were on the tray—people of my neighborhood spoke English at home. I could remember almost all the items, but I struggled because I did not know how to name them in English. Of course, I did not win, but it triggered something in me. From that day onwards, I started learning new words in English. Now, I begin my day with learning new words. I always consult a dictionary, and try to use the new words as often as I can, until they become a part of my active vocabulary.

The second story is related to the first story because it happened with the same childhood friend. I had returned after earning my MS from Ukraine. Before I left Sri Lanka again in 1986 to pursue my PhD studies, I was teaching chemistry, first at Kelaniya and then at the University of Ruhuna. One day, I was in Fort, Colombo, and I walked into my friend’s office building; he owned the building and had his office there. As we talked, he mentioned about an interview that he had conducted just a few minutes prior to my arrival. I still remember his words: “This guy I interviewed today has a science degree from Kelaniya, but he could not speak English at all.” I tried my best to defend the hapless graduate; but my friend was looking for a science graduate who was fluent in English. Read More

Swimming Against The Tide

By Rajiva Wijesinha -December 20, 2013

Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha MP

Professor Error Jansz, former Director of the Ceylon Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research, and later Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, recently published his autobiography. The title was interesting, and the book in fact proved fascinating. Though some of the scientific detail was beyond me, what emerges is a total commitment not only to the research capacities of his students, but also an anxiety that the research should be used productive. Given that with so much potential, and such impressive staff, the CISIR has not contributed much to productivity, I would suggest that the human story that emerges in the book should be studied by Sri Lankans concerned with our current failure to have built on the educational excellences of the past – if indeed any such exist.

A perceptive analysis of the book by Prof Liminiga, the former Director of a Swedish university programme that worked with the CISIR over many years, notes that Jansz suffered throughout his career because ‘you had your roots in a minority community combined with being successful in your work, “too good” and thus creating jealousy. Perhaps it should be added also that you have always been honest and straightforward, not a “yes-man”, which didn’t make it easier for you.

Jansz himself thinks the last two reasons are the salient ones, and says that ‘being of an ethnic and religious minority played a role only on a few occasions by a few extremists’. In the present climate that is a problem that will I suspect get worse, and it is vital that government institutes a pro-active policy of promoting the involvement at all levels of all communities in public institutions and programmes. But in terms of the experiences described in the book I think Jansz’s analysis is accurate, and it is his failure, or perhaps incapacity, to blow with prevailing winds that caused him such anguish.

Don’t grab all, share with others – president

Thursday, 19 December 2013

At a meeting of the SLFP committee at Temple Trees that began at 7.00 pm yesterday (18), the president’s attention was drawn mainly to the repeated defeats of Pradeshiya Sabha budgets.

He said, “I inquired into these continuing losses of budgets. The issue is that our chairmen grab all and do not share with others.”

The ministers present at the meeting could not comprehend as to whether they should laugh, or keep wry faces at this remark, but senior ministers told among themselves, “That should have started from the boss himself.”

Although invitations had been sent to 1,400 committee members, only nearly 800 were present. As we reported previously, there were clashes of opinion within the SLFP with regard to the venue of the meeting, and a Temple Trees hall refurbished for CHOGM had been used for the purpose.

The agenda for the meeting was prepared not by Maithripala Sirisena, general secretary of the party, but by minister Dullas Alahapperuma. Well known to be a person who runs everything he lays hands on, his agenda violated tradition and the party song was sung after religious observances, not the customary remembrance of the past leaders of the party. It was during the party song being sung that they had remembered tradition and Mr. Sirisena intervened to remember the past leaders thereafter.

At this meeting, the president has hinted at his intention of holding a presidential election in the coming year, saying, “There is talk everywhere about going for a presidential election. I saw today in astrology papers that a presidential election will be held within the next few months. It cannot be said yet whether it will be a presidential or a parliamentary election.”

Responding to this, a senior minister told a colleague that he had not seen such an article in any of the astrology papers. “Now, it seems the boss is going to print astrology papers too.”

Media Release Doctors for Refugees

Friday, 20 December 2013

Doctors for Refugees welcomesthe news that 15 doctors working on Christmas Island have spoken out about conditions in the detention centre.

"The conditions revealed in the letter – long delays in transfer to mainland hospitals, resulting in potentially life threatening risks and unsafe care of pregnant women - these should be shocking, but unfortunately we have heard it all too often from professionals who have witnessed them first hand," said Dr. Barri Phatarfod from Doctors for Refugees.

"Particularly alarming is the mass exposure to tuberculosis, due to inadequate time for its diagnosis. The government has responded by closing down the Immigration Health Advisory Group, the only official independent body reporting on the health of refugees and asylum seekers.", said Dr Richard Kidd

Doctors for Refugees is a group of concerned medical professionals who are campaigning for fair and humane treatment of refugees and asylum seekers in Australia. We believe doctors have a responsibility to raise our concerns about the human cost of indefinite detention.

Dr Phatarfod observes “It is understandable that the doctors involved in these practices express fear they could be putting their medical registration at risk ‘by participating in unethical conduct and in gross departures from clinical standards.’ This reinforces the fact that it is a health issue and therefore one that should concern all doctors.”

We encourage all doctors and health professionals to join our organisation.

Contact:
Dr. Richard Kidd Ph: 0411191433
Dr. Barri Phatarfod Ph: 0412090304
Email: doctors4refugees@gmail.com

VIDEO: FIRE AT EDUCATION MINISTRY BUILDING...

A fire erupted on the fourth floor of the Education Ministry building in Isurupaya this morning (December 20). The fire was later brought under control while no one was injured in the incident. (Pics by Sanjeewa Lasantha)

December 20, 2013

No such person works for President – GL-Alleged attempt by presidential aide to sell artefact

December 19, 2013,

No person by the name of Dhammika Premalal Raigama had worked as a coordinating secretary to the President, at the President’s office, External Affairs Minister Prof G. L. Peiris told Parliament yesterday (19).

Prof. Peiris said that the UNP’s Matara District MP had on Wednesday told parliament that a person by the name of Dhammika Premalal Raigama working in the President’s office had tried to sell an artefact for Rs. 350 mn. "There is no such person by that name."

Prof. Peiris, participating in the third reading stage debate on budget 2014, under the expenditure heads of the Ministry of Public Administration and Home Affairs, said the UNP MP had misled the House with false facts and it was the duty of the government to set the record straight.The Minister said that MP Samaraweera had alleged that Israelis had participated in the CHOGM 2013 and accused the government of accommodating people from countries that were not members of the Commonwealth. MP Samaraweera attempted to blow out of proportion the Israeli nationals coming to CHOGM on their own flights. "The Israeli nationals were leading businessmen in that country and they came here to attend the Commonwealth business forum.

When a Commonwealth business forum is held not only the businessmen of the member countries, but also businessmen from other countries, participated in them, said Prof. Peiris. "It was same with the Commonwealth business forum held in parallel with the previous CHOGM held in Perth Australia."

Prof. Peiris said: "For the Business forum held in Sri Lanka, businessmen from 53 member countries and 14 non-member countries attended. Non-member countries were United Arab Emirates, Israel, the US, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, South Korea, Switzerland, Turkey, China, France, Germany, Ireland and Japan. These countries sent 180 businessmen and some had arrived in Sri Lanka on their own aircraft. Among them were the Israeli businessmen mentioned by MP Samaraweera in his speech. The chairman of the leading Israeli company LR Group arrived on his own flight. The business forum was a success and 1,395 Sri Lankan businessmen attended it," he said.

Prof. Peiris said that MP Samaraweera had accused the government of purchasing British MPs to speak on behalf of Sri Lanka. "The government did not pay or sponsor British MPs in the manner MP Samaraweera tried to portray. "A delegation of Lankan Parliamentarians of both government and Opposition visited Britain on a familiarisation visit sometime ago. It was sponsored by the International Alert organisation of which one of the main source of income was the British government. We, too, as an act of reciprocity, invited a group of British MPs and sponsored their visit. Sri Lanka has achieved a lot of international acclaim in that manner. For example, Lord Naseby, who came here and witnessed the progress we had made towards reconciliation, was highly impressed and he praised Sri Lanka at many forums."

Water Board writes off Thonda’s massive water bill

Friday, 20 December 2013

The National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB) has decided to write off a massive water bill of CWC Leader, Minister Arumugam Thondaman.

The dues for water bills of Thondaman’s Kotagala residence amounted to Rs. 2,432,153. Despite several requests made by the NWSDB, the Minister had failed to make the payments.

Finally, the board of directors of the NWSDB had decided to write off the amount through board memorandum no. 5/95/2012-767.

MR sacks members, but UPFA defeated in Imbulpe

Friday, 20 December 2013

Despite President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s directive to expel all governing party members who have voted against the 2014 budget proposals presented in their respective local government bodies, the 2014 budget proposal in the Imbulpe Pradeshiya Sabha headed by the governing UPFA was defeated for the second time.

The governing party members in the respective local government body had voted against the budget less than 24 hours after the President informed the local government members of the importance of winning budget proposals of UPFA ruled local government councils and threatened action against those who vote to defeat the budgets.

The budget proposals of nine local government bodies ruled by the UPFA have been defeated so far.

Only two members have voted in favour of the budget in Imbulpe while nine members have voted against it.

The Vice- Chairman of the local government body and five other members of the UPFA have voted against the budget.

Drug dealers as lawmakers

Editorial-December 19, 2013,

Covering fire for a beleaguered Prime Minister D. M. Jayaratne under pressure to resign over a letter issued from his office seeking a demurrage waiver for an importer who turned out to be a heroin smuggler has come from unexpected quarters. No sooner had Chief Opposition Whip and UNP MP Joseph Michael Perera hurled abuse at him in Parliament than UNP MP Mangala Samaraweera defended him in the House. The UNP seems divided over the issue.

Prime Minister Jayaratne was innocent, insisted MP Samaraweera on Wednesday, claiming that the former had done nothing wrong as most politicians issued such letters. There was a witch hunt against the Premier as he was one of the senior SLFPers who were not in the good books of the powers that be, Samaraweera claimed. Minister Tissa Vitharana has also defended the PM to the hilt. Samaraweera’s is the voice of the UNP leadership and the Premier could rest assured that the main Opposition party won’t flog the heroin issue during election campaigns. But, the JHU is out for his scalp!

Here is a situation where prejudgment has to be avoided, we reckon. Investigations into the heroin scandal are said to be on and, therefore, let the police and the judiciary handle the matter. However, the media should not be faulted for their ‘preoccupation’ with the issue which is of utmost national interest.

A prime minister is just a glorified minister when he comes from the same party as the president. But, it may be recalled that in 1993 the Prime Minister (D. B. Wijetunge) became the president, following the untimely demise of the then incumbent President (Ranasinghe Premadasa). Therefore, it behoves the prime minister to act with responsibility and be above suspicion like Caesar’s wife. PM Jayaratne should have known better than to allow letters to be issued on his behalf seeking favours for various people.

MP Samaraweera’s allegation that the present Parliament has some MPs living on drug money mustn’t go unprobed. That there are drug dealers among politicians is common knowledge. In fact, it was Prime Minister Jayaratne who told Parliament a few moons ago that politicians were protecting drug czars and that was why the drug menace couldn’t be eliminated. But, this is the first time such an allegation has been levelled, on the floor of the House, against the sitting MPs themselves. Now, each and every lawmaker is a suspect in the eyes of the ordinary public. Samaraweera ought to name the culprits so that all parliamentarians won’t get tarred with the same brush. He should at least name the political party to which those criminal elements belong. The national legislature which is empowered even to ‘try’ judges, among other things, must be rid of drug dealers, if any, forthwith.

Allegations that led to the impeachment of Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake and the incarceration of former Army Commander Gen. Sarath Fonseka pale into insignificance in comparison to the one MP Samaraweera has levelled against parliamentarians. A fish is said to rot from the head down. So does a country!

Drug related offences carry severe penalties. A druggie caught with a few milligrammes of heroin in his possession is sent to jail. And, in some countries like Malaysia they are punishable by death. But, we are told that here in this blessed land drug dealers are making laws!

No wonder drug kingpins are carrying out their operations through the Colombo Port and the country is awash with narcotics. There is a pressing need, we repeat, for a high level probe into MP Samaraweera’s allegation.

PNB on the trail of big-time drug dealers

December 20, 2013

By Premalal Wijeratne

The Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) has obtained intelligence reports regarding people who have become rich by dealing heroin.

According to a high-ranking official, who conduct investigations on heroin dealings, public tend to give more information about drug dealers following the controversy surrounding a heroin container raided by the Sri Lanka Customs recently.

Police had taken steps to get the assistance of the Department of Inland Revenue (IRD) to find people who have become millionaires through heroin dealings.

Police sources said these drug dealers had purchased a lot of properties in the names of their relatives.

Police investigation regarding the Rs 65 million-worth heroin stock found in Hikkaduwa recently had revealed that a major heroin dealer, who lived in Moratuwa, is constructing an 11-storey super market complex in the Southern Province. (Ceylon Today Online)
Drunken doctor remanded for assaulting SI

By Dilhan Wimalka- December 20, 2013

A medical doctor employed at the Nagoda Hospital was arrested for misbehaving while under the influence of liquor in Kalutara.

The drunken doctor, who had gotten off his motorbike and had misbehaved in the Kalutara town, had assaulted a Sub Inspector of Police.

The doctor had then been arrested following the incident, while the injured SI was admitted to the Nagoda General Hospital.

The medical report given by the Horana Forensic Officer has confirmed that the doctor was a drunk at the time of the incident.

The suspect was remanded till 23rd December after being produced before the Kalutara Magistrate’s court.

The suspect has been identified as a 32 year old resident of Galle and a graduate of Ruhunu University. (Ceylon Today Online)