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| Thursday, 17 July 2003 |
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Letters | |
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Beware of fake lottery 'bonanzas' I was surprised recently to receive a letter bearing a Spanish postmark informing that I have been the lucky winner of a Spanish lottery amounting to a fabulous fortune by Sri Lanka standards. I was more than surprised at this unexpected news since I had never purchased a foreign lottery ticket in my life or subscribed to one in any other manner. Still it was great news. In instances of this nature one is apt to take a most optimistic view of it however overwhelmingly other reasons might point to the contrary. So at the first blush my imagination took a flight; here was the chance I was waiting for in life; that all my financial problems would come to an end and that life is going to be a bed of roses hereafter etc. etc. All these rosy dreams were but short lived. The letter referred to was purported to have been sent by a Spanish lottery company based in Malaga (Spain). Whilst congratulating me at my singular luck it requested me to furnish them with some personal details and copy of identity card to enable them to remit the prize money. However, going through the letter more attentively I observed certain significant omissions and discrepancies which gave rise to my suspicions that this must be a sham after all, the work of some dream merchants. For instance the name of the lottery company was mix of both Spanish and English words, a very unlikely occurrence in the case of European company names. They are written in their own language not interlarded with foreign words. The address of the lottery company was incomplete with no street name and telephone or fax numbers, not even a postal code number. All this substantiated my incipient doubts that this must be nothing but a fake. However, to make it certain I contacted the Spanish Honorary Consul in Colombo who confirmed that there is no such lottery or lottery company in Spain. That was the last I had to do with the said lottery prize. I am writing this to keep the public informed of the kind of deceit practised by unscrupulous elements to hoodwink the unsuspecting and gullible people. Let the public beware of these spurious lotteries lest by trying to be richer they might end up being poorer. P. G. A. Henry, Matara Interest on our hard-earned money Banks charge over 15 per cent interest when it lends money to customers having secured themselves with immovable property and personal guarantees from reputed and wealthy personalities. Banks sometimes lend on Gold that is pledged with them. In fact Banks give the customer only a percentage of the value of the Gold Jewellery that is pledged with them. Banks are risk averse they do not take any risk in most cases. The same bank offers the customer only 4.5 per cent interest on savings and 7 per cent interest on a fixed deposit given by the customer in exchange for an F.D. Certificate. All that one can do in case the bank winds up is to hang the FD round the neck and form an association and sit helplessly on the pavement and pray to God. They are not in a position even to meet the Directors of the Bank. Just see the risk taken by the customer as against the risk taken by the bank and for what return? Shouldn't the customer/citizen be safeguarded by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and the Government. If so what is happening to the depositors of the Bank that was closed in the recent past? Will the Government let this happen again and again and keep passing the buck? The same racket goes on with the credit card. The company entices the customer by offering a maximum of 45 days credit but this never works out to the advantage of the customer because to get this 45 days one has to purchase on the 1st of the month and pay on the 15th of the following month. If you buy on the 30th of the month you get only 15 days. Does one purchase all his/her requirements on any one particular day in the month? Of course the company charges only 3% per mensum for debts not settled in time. This sounds small but is very big because it works out to 36% per annum. This foreign bank also pays 4-5% interest in savings account. The 4-5% interest that the bank pays on savings is not even sufficient to make good the loss on inflation, which is higher than 5%. How can savings be encouraged with this rate of interest. Will the authorities do something about this in the interest of its citizens? A. PERERA, Dehiwala. Capital punishment for rape and murder It was with a feeling of horror that we read the newspaper reports of gang rape of teenage girls and strangling them to death thereafter. Such crimes recently reported from Polonnaruwa, Horana, Galewela etc are causing grave anxiety and fear among parents and young girls all over the country. A few days ago the daylight murder of wife and daughter of an Air Port security officer was reported followed by a triple murder of father, son and daughter at Dehiwela. The public 'is' deeply concerned that the law and order in the country have deteriorated so badly that newspapers report of rape, murder, robberies etc almost everyday. It will bring a sense of relief to the public if they could learn through the medium of the press action taken by the police in these cases and success achieved in bringing the culprits to book. As in the Hokandara rape and murder case where the offenders were identified by DNA tests, the same procedure should be followed in other cases of rape and murder as well to enable the prosecution to prove their case fully. The police is sometimes handicapped by political interference violating the principle of all being equal before the law and the timely proposal of the Prime Minister to draw up a code of ethics for parliamentarians is a step in the right direction. Through this code of ethics it is hoped that parliamentarians who take the law into their own hands will find themselves in trouble and dealt with suitably. The punishment for proved cases of crimes such as rape and murder is death penalty. It is quite evident that commuting a death penalty to life imprisonment has in the least reduced grave crimes over the years. On the contrary offenders even spurn the death penalty as they know for sure that it will be commuted to a life sentence and by putting up a good behaviour front they could get released long before the full period is served. If the death penalty by hanging or electric chair or whatever is carried out criminals who plan murder will slink away as the hangmans' noose will appear in front of them and drive fear into them. Some murderers after coming out of jail will keep on planning to take revenge from those who gave evidence against them resulting in more deaths. It also puts the police at a disadvantage as witnesses shy away from giving evidence for fear of reprisals. Reimposing the death penalty is seen as the only effective way to check the crime wave that is sweeping the country. Some countries had even resorted to emasculation as punishment for rape. This too may be given due consideration. S. P. NANAYAKKARA, Kalutara Please permit me to voice my deep concern as a parent, a lawyer and a responsible citizen, a glaringly pernicious trend that our Television Channel seems to have adopted in recent times. The most appalling development in this regard is a serial programme telecast at prime time which is a raw exposure of dastardly crimes of murder, robberies and other crimes of violence which are simulated in their minute and stark detail by actual actors. The most recent episode was the gruesome killing of two sons of a woman by her illicit lover with the aid of her other sons with her full knowledge and connivance. The only and overt purpose of reenacting these crimes on the small screen seems to be pure sensationalism and nothing else. The mere fact that finally the culprits are taken into custody by the police in no way diminishes the long term evil effect on the public mind by the visuals simulating the committing of these ghastly crimes. Further only the initial stages of the prosecution of these crimes have commenced and the trial stage has not yet begun. Therefore under the prevailing tenets of criminal jurisprudence, the visual exposures of these crimes reenacted with such stark realism is clearly an interference with the judicial process and causes grave injustice to the suspects awaiting a fair trial. These programmes have not got an iota of the informative and educative value of for example, the Medical Detective Programmes shown on the Discovery Channel which give useful insights into the latest developments in forensic science and Criminology. Further these Medical Detective programmes do not simulate the actual crimes in all their lurid and sordid detail like in our local programmes. The sensationalism of crime and violence and the idolization of leaders in the business of organized crime in certain sections of the printed media coupled with the visual presentation of these crimes with such great attention to their sordid details in the national electronic media is bound to have without a doubt a tremendous impact on young minds and on aspiring candidates to the world of crime and violence. The mere fact that these programmes earn popular appeal and higher ratings should in no way be the criterion for public viewing of such programmes by our TV. Earning profits by hook or by crook should not be the national policy of the public electronic media of the country. It is time that there should be a total reviewing of the policy and attitudes on public entertainment adopted by the TV. Strict guidelines should be laid down by an enlightened body of persons who have the interest of the well-being and preservation of the moral fibre of the younger generation of this country at heart. S. W. LEWKE BANDARA, P.C., Galle. |
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