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The Homagama High Court yesterday (September 30) sentenced a Police Constable, convicted of sexually abusing a minor girl under the age of 16, to 14 years of rigorous imprisonment.

High Court Judge Navaratne Marasinghe also imposed a fine of Rs. 25,000 on the defendant.

The Judge ordered that failure to pay the fine would result in an additional six months of ordinary imprisonment.

The verdict was delivered yesterday following a prolonged trial on the charge of grave sexual abuse of a minor under 16 years of age.

Appearing for the prosecution, State Counsel Shainee Weerasuriya highlighted the extreme gravity of the crime, noting that the accused was a police officer, an individual entrusted with upholding justice, who had committed a serious act of child abuse.

The State Counsel pointed out that under Section 365(B)2(b) of the Penal Code, such an offence carries a sentence of not less than 10 years and not more than 20 years of either type of rigorous imprisonment, in addition to a fine and compensation for the victim.

The court was also informed that the accused was still actively serving as a police officer attached to the Ingiriya Police Station at the time of the verdict.

The State Counsel revealed that the accused had concealed his employment during the court proceedings, and the matter only came to light when a warrant was issued.

The counsel stressed that the accused's actions constituted a severe betrayal of the trust placed in him by the public and the police department itself.

"The victim's mother acted as any ordinary person would, placing trust in the accused because he was a police officer," the State Counsel submitted.

 "The fact that a police officer, a figure of authority, misused his official position to commit this crime is revealed through the evidence. If individuals in police service commit such abuses, especially against children, how can ordinary citizens find justice?"

In delivering the sentence, Judge Marasinghe stressed that this was not an ordinary offence but a very serious crime of the highest magnitude.

The Judge noted that ordinary citizens who are victims of crimes rely on the Police Department for justice. In this case, the accused, while serving as a police officer, had cunningly entered the home of the eight-year-old victim when his wife was absent.

The accused then sent his own young daughter into the bathroom, allegedly to play a game of hide-and-seek, and misled and deceived the victim into committing the grave sexual abuse.

The Judge stated that the accused had violated the trust placed in him by the Police Department, brought disrepute to the force, and severely undermined the process of social justice.

The seriousness of the offence, compounded by the fact that the accused was married and a father of a young daughter (who was less than a year older than the victim), was deemed aggravating factors.

The Judge firmly rejected the defence counsel's plea for leniency, which cited the accused's age (59) and the fact that he has a 21-year-old daughter.

"A father, especially one with a daughter only slightly older than the victim, should have a proper understanding of the value of a daughter and the severe lifelong mental distress such a sexual crime inflicts," the Judge stated. "Ignoring all that, the accused used a young eight-year-old girl who placed her trust in him to satisfy his base sexual desires. Therefore, this court cannot, in any way, grant a lenient sentence."

Following these observations, the Judge imposed a 14-year prison sentence on the accused.

The proposed new bill to amend the Penal Code, which seeks to criminalise corporal punishment, has been strongly criticised by a former government minister and President's Counsel as a move that could lead to "anarchy" and destabilise the country.

The government maintains that the bill, which Prime Minister Dr Harini Amarasuriya recently said does not target schools or teachers, is aimed at ending disciplinary methods that cause harm to students and providing legal punishment for such offences.

However, several factions, including the Chief Prelates of the Malwatta and Asgiriya chapters of the Siam sect, as well as the Amarapura and Ramanna sects, have already raised concerns, stating that governing by "imitation of foreign practices" and disregarding traditional customs could result in a "social catastrophe."

Speaking against this backdrop, former Minister of Justice, Dr Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, explained his stance on the proposed legislation.

Claims of foreign interference

Dr Rajapakshe revealed that similar proposals were consistently rejected during his tenure as Justice Minister, asserting that such amendments are often pushed by external groups.

"There are many organisations, such as international NGO and many other interested groups, that have been interfering in our legislature during the last several decades," he said. "When I was the minister since 2015, there were many agencies which came with several suggestions, which included this type of amendment to the penal code. Similarly, just to legalise homosexuality and also to pass laws to legalise same-sex marriage. I think that I may have received more than 100 times this kind of suggestion, but every time that I put them into the dustbin."

Bill a 'long-term plan' to destabilise Sri Lanka

The former Minister strongly criticised the current government for accepting the proposal, characterising it as a "long-term plan" designed to destabilise the nation.

"I don't know why this government accepted this kind of proposal. This is just to make use of our parliament to fulfil some aspirations of international organisations, a few local organisations in Sri Lanka and also some vulnerable groups who wanted to do it. It is a shame that any government pass this law," he asserted.

Dr Rajapakshe continued: "This is not really happening for the sake of protecting the rights of the children. This is a long-term plan, whereas this is one of the best modes just to destabilise the country. Because these Western forces never wanted to see a country like Sri Lanka stabilised politically, socially and culturally. Therefore, there is a conspiracy to which the government has got caught up. It is really a shame."

Contributing towards an indisciplined society

Dr Rajapakshe went on to explain how criminalising disciplinary measures would ultimately lead to a lack of social order:

"Hereafter, what will happen is that teachers will be willing to go to jail by addressing and correcting students. They will allow children and students to do whatever they want. Finally, they won't be disciplined either in school. If there is no discipline in the school, it will lead to an indisciplined society. Finally, the country will fall into a state of anarchy," Dr Rajapakshe noted.

He concluded that current laws are already sufficient for child protection, and that the proposed bill will have a "disastrous effect" on the next generation. "In fact, for the protection children need, we have passed laws and amended all the laws commencing from the colonial period, and that protection is more than enough. I don't think that this is a protection. This can have a disastrous effect on the next generation. This act is not to protect the children. This is to destroy the children," he stated.

The case filed against Sujeewa Senasinghe—accused of possessing a luxury V8 vehicle, valued at approximately Rs. 10 million, that was allegedly illegally assembled—has been postponed until January 7 by Fort Magistrate Isuru Nettikumara today (October 1).

The Magistrate took steps to fix the case for trial after observing that the defence had failed to file preliminary objections, despite the case being called for that purpose.

The Magistrate rejected a request made by the attorney representing the accused to allow time to file the objections and subsequently scheduled the trial date.

The accused, Sujeewa Senasinghe, was present in open court when the case was called.