Child abuse: Gem merchant remanded

Indika Polkotuwa and Asela Kuruluwansa

A leading Gem businessman in Ratnapura accused of attempting to sexually abuse a 15 year old orphan after intoxicating him, was remanded by Kandy Chief Magistrate Harsha Sethunga on Wednesday.

The businessman, Siripala Silva (50), had claimed that he brought the child to Kandy to get him treated for a dental ailment.

The police said that it has been revealed that the man had tried to abuse the child who was an inmate of a orphanage after taking him to a well-known hotel in Kandy.

Before making advances he had tried to intoxicate the child by giving alcohol.

The Kandy police Children and Women’s Bureau OIC WSI A. Bamunusinghe said individuals cannot take children away from their orphanages without being accompanied by a legitimate custodian. A special team of police officers have been dispatched to Ratnapura to investigate how the child had been released to this person’s custody.

The raid was carried out by the Kandy Police following a tip off received on their emergency hotline.

Till the next hearing the child will be kept at Veherawela Home.

Further investigations are being conducted by a team of officers headed by Kandy HQI Anurudhdha Bandarnaike under the direction of Kandy Division SSP Jagath Abeysiri Gunawardena.