Betrayal of over-confidence

Ananda Jayasena

Snr. Supdt. of Police (Rtd)

In the beginning of the year 1962, officers of the Sri Lanka Army, Navy and Police jointly staged a coup d'etat against the lawfully elected Government of the day, which was nipped in the bud, as the information was leaked out earlier.

Over-confidence often may lead to disasters in official matters or may be in personal lives. Selection of personal staff dedicated to preserve privacy in official transactions is not an easy task.

This was inquired into by the CID headed by its DIG S. A. Dissanayake. For this, he had sent a telephone message to five ASPp of the Colombo Division to release five Sub-Inspectors, one from each Division, to report to him. These officers were not for investigations but to do the 'spade work' such as eavesdropping, when they were taken to and fro from the CID to the remand prison.

For the investigations, there was a very effective team of officers in the CID such as John Attygalle, Eleric Abeygunawardena, Simon Silva, Tyrrel Goonetilleke and R. C. Thavarajah.

During this period of time, I was attached to the Colombo Harbour Police and my ASP Royden Vaderwall directed me to report to the CID in mid-March 1962. Accordingly, I reported to IP Jussey, OIC CID.

After working in the CID for about three months, Inspector A. M. Seneviratne, OIC Unit (1) took me to his unit.

Somewhere in the middle of 1962, a letter written to IGP by Fathima Tea Traders Colombo regarding a misappropriation of cash Rs. three lakhs having been referred to the CID for inquiry, had been channelled to Unit (1) and Inspector Seneviratne wanted me to inquire into it.

I was briefed by him at length and Sgt. 1808 Seneviratne and PC 7831 Kulugammana were given to me. "Three young men from Katugastota who had been at the Peradeniya campus had jointly formed a tea company and named it 'Fathima Tea Traders'. They were Fareed Hameed, Ahamed Gaffoor and Rizzan Farook. To float this company, Hameed had given Rs. three lakhs and the other two had contributed Rs. one and a half lakhs each. Hameed became the Chairman and the other two were Directors.

A plot of land was bought in Kotahena, close to Bloemendhal Road abutting St. Benedict's grounds and a factory with a few labourers and a clerk was started in the year 1954.

Time went by, business at Fatima Tea Traders improved by leaps and bounds. In 1958 they shifted to a new, spacious building at McCallum Road by the Beira Lake so that it was convenient to ferry the tea boxes to ship by barges. They increased the labour force, six more clerks were employed and the management wanted to have a confidential secretary for them and an advertisement was inserted in the daily newspapers.

Out of 18 applications, a Burgher woman named Astrid Cramer was selected. She was 24 years old, thin, tall, very pretty and married to a Lyn Cramer, a clerk.

After Astrid came to work, the three Directors of the firm found her to be very efficient, hardworking. Her only problem was her husband's excessive drinking.

A little later he lost his job in the firm he worked.

With the passage of time there was a massive improvement in the firm. Everyone did his quota of work and everyone was contented. Astrid was worried about her husband and wrote to her sister-in-law in Australia to find two jobs for both of them and within a few weeks a reply was received that jobs were no problem and for them to come.

Astrid was liked by the Chairman and both the Directors and had immense faith on her. Besides this, Hameed and Farook were keeping Astrid as their mistress but it was not known to each other.

Both their wives suspected them and the entire labour force of the firm knew about it. By 1960, Fathima Tea Traders could compete with any leading tea firm in the island.

Directors of three other tea companies were jealous of Fathima Tea Traders and they wanted somehow or other to be ahead of it.

They jointly thought of a plan and sent their own decoys to collect information and one such person heard of Lyn Cramer who was now drinking and idling at home. He informed this to his bosses and they gave the green light to go ahead.

He contacted Lyn but Lyn said that Astrid would not stoop to that level but promised to persuade her.

When Astrid came home Lyn took up this subject with her. At first she refused in toto, but when Lyn explained to her that a large sum of money was required to migrate, she promised to consider and tell him in the morning.

In the morning just before she left for work, she informed Lyn that she was agreeable to his request. This news was conveyed to the person who approached Lyn and told him that the amount needed was very high. When this news was given to the boss he was very happy and was ready to spend any amount as he thought the sky was the limit.

As time passed by, all board meeting reports were leaked out, quotations to other buyers were given in advance along with company schedules and Astrid was very well paid.

The other companies started to bid a little more than Fathima Tea Traders and within six months there was a big drop in the income of Fathima Tea Traders.

The three board members and confidential secretary checked all ledger, accounts, cheque books till end of 1961 but no error was detected.

The board members knew that Astrid was making arrangements to migrate to Australia and pleaded with her not to leave them at this juncture, but to remain and uplift the firm. But Astrid did not give a direct reply.

In mid-March 1962, the bank statement for February 1962 was received by post. This is normally filed in the office by Astrid. As Astrid was on leave that day this letter was opened by Ahamed Gaffoor and he noticed two cheques for one and three quarter lakhs and the other for rupees one and one quarter lakhs had been paid to two people who were strangers. He noticed that the amount was very much more for each payment and decided to get to the bank forthwith.

On perusal of documents at the bank, he noticed that the cheques had been paid to two unknown people. Without informing the other two Directors, he wrote a letter to the IGP regarding a misappropriation of Rs. three lakhs. This was the letter referred to me.

I rang up the writer, Gaffoor. He came and saw me. He discussed the case and told me that he suspects the confidential secretary. Gaffoor made arrangements for PC Kulagammana to write a letter as if it was written by a labourer in the tea factory and I promised to come for inquiries on next Wednesday - two days hence.

When I went to McCallum Road on Wednesday morning, Gaffoor was in office. There was a very smart lady who was introduced to me by Gaffoor as Astrid, the confidential secretary of the firm.

I was chatting to Gaffoor about the letter, when a person came and told Gaffoor that Astrid had suddenly taken ill and went home. He promised to get the other two members tomorrow in office.

When I reached Fathima Tea Traders, Gaffoor was there. He said that they discussed the case till late into the night and three of them were ready to make their statements.

I recorded the detail statements of Fareed Hameed, Chairman. He stated that he had immense faith in the confidential secretary and told that he and the other two executives sign blank cheques and she just fills them and hands them over to the persons concerned.

Statements of the other two board members were also recorded.

In the meantime, I reported facts to Court and obtained an order to examine all bank documents. Whilst going through the cheque leaves, I came across the two cheques earlier referred to by Ahamed Gaffoor. They were cheque Nos. K/2 72143 and K/2 72259 dated 5.2.62 and 26.2.62 respectively. These two cheques had been encashed over the counter by Duke Fredrick of 312, Negombo Road, Wattala and by Collin Ferdinand of 107, St. Anne's Road, Wattala at Wattala branch.

In red ink the following endorsement had been made on the face of the cheques: Where the amounts rechecked. The amounts involved were Rs. 175,000 and Rs. 125,000. Both these cheques have been paid by M. Thavarasa on 07.02.62 and 28.02.62. I recorded Thavarasa's statement. He stated that the red ink endorsement had been made by a supervising officer and as both clients had transacted business with the bank for a period over ten years without defaults, we paid.

I took these two check leaves as productions.

I went to the house of Duke Fredrick and recorded his statement. He was a respectable retired planter whose daughter has been a good friend of Astrid from their convent days. He stated that Astrid came and asked him whether he could encash her company cheque if written in his name.

He had said yes. And on the following morning she came to the bank and he cashed the cheque for her. She had given him Rs. 1,000 as a gratification but had refused it. The whole amount of Rs. 175,000 had been taken away by Astrid.

I went to the house of Collin Ferdinands. He was present. He said that Astrid was his God-daughter and told the same story of what Fredrick said.

His statement was recorded. Here again he had handed over Rs. 125,000 having cashed the cheque.

When I came to Fathima Tea Traders office on the third day, Gaffoor told me that they went to the house of Astrid at 27, Mayfield Lane, Kotahena and she was not there. According to neighbours she had brought a lorry and removed the goods and went with husband in a hurry. No one knew where she had gone.

I went to the office of Immigration and Emigration which was then housed at the Harbour Jetty and obtained the passport numbers of both Lyn and Astrid and went to the CID section of the Immigration and Emigration and found that they have not yet left our shores. I made a request to prevent them leaving the country and to contact the CID office Unit (1) as a complaint of misappropriation of three lakhs had been made against Astrid. A note to this effect was made in their register by them.

We made all possible inquiries to trace Astrid or Lyn but were unsuccessful. Lyn had not been sighted in any of the pubs in Colombo.

After two months Astrid and Lyn Cramer had appeared at the Colombo harbour jetty Immigration and Emigration office to migrate to Australia. Astrid had been prevented from leaving the country and had been told that there was a case of misappropriation of three lakhs being inquired into by the CID.

She had cried and said it was impossible but she had been handed over to the CID.

I recorded her statement. She point blank denied the allegation levelled against her and said that this was a big mistake. She was a very hard nut to crack and tried to avoid all the questions put to her. Later she refused to sign the statement. I made a foot note and showed her.

I produced her in the Jt. Magistrate Courts in Fort and remanded her to fiscal custody for 10 days and on the tenth day I filed plaint against her for misappropriation of Rs. 300,000 from Fathima Tea Traders.

This case came up before Sirimevan Amerasinghe, Magistrate, JMC Colombo and the accused was defended by Proctor Andrew de Silva, a veteran. She pleaded not guilty to the charge and the case was fixed for trial and she was remanded.

On the first day of trial the Chairman, Hameed, sent a medical certificate and the case was postponed. On the second date of trial Farook had got admitted to a private hospital and forwarded a medical certificate. Again the case was postponed.

On the 3rd date of trial all witnesses were present and the case was to be taken up for trial, when Astrid jumped forward and told the Magistrate that she cannot be in remand any more and wants to plead guilty. Proctor Andrew Silva was shocked. He informed Court that the accused had been working in the Tea Company as a confidential secretary and the Chairman and another person had been keeping as their mistress.

Sirimevan Amerasinghe who was seated on the bench was calm and collected and stated that being a mistress of a man is the counsel's story and misappropriation of three lakhs is another story and the accused on her own had pleaded guilty to the offence now.

Andrew Silva was silent. The Magistrate asked the accused again whether she was guilty or not guilty, when she replied 'guilty'.

She was ordered to give her finger prints and the case was postponed against for the sentence. On the next Court day, the Magistrate considering the fact that she was in remand for well over a month, sentenced her to serve a jail sentence of 9 months.

I was still working in Unit (1) of the CID and after about 7 months I was sent back to my earlier station - Colombo Harbour.

One evening, Passenger Ship MV Canberra had come from England and was berthed in mid-stream of the Colombo Harbour, enroute to Australia. There was a large crowd of people in the Passenger Jetty and police were detailed for duty.

I myself went to the jetty in uniform, when I saw a known figure coming towards me but I could identify her immediately. She came to me and said that she was migrating to Australia to live with the convicts for the rest of her life.

(Name of the accused and the three businessmen are fictitious)