Child dies of choking inside vehicle

I.L.R. Lafir and Thasmiya were proud parents of two children. The eldest was a 11-year-old daughter and a son who was 5 years old. They were residents of Oluwil, Akkaraipattu in the Ampara District.
It was on August 7 Monday (Poya Day) that the son had left home at about 1.30 pm saying that he was going to a nearby boutique. As there was an undue delay in his coming home, the parents went in search of the child.   

Even after a couple of hours they were unable to find any clues about his whereabouts. The parents with the help of the neighbours searched for their son but were unsuccessful.   

The parents were shocked as to what had happened to the child. This loss of the child spread all over the village in Oluwil and no information was found about him for many hours despite telephone calls given to all in the neighbourhood and to their kith and kin.   

People in the village came to various conclusions: He may have been kidnapped by somebody or he may have gone for a walk with an outsider. In spite of the fact that various views were expressed by the people in the area, the whole village was shocked as he was not found by their parents.   
By 5.30 pm the news spread all over the village that the concerned child was found inside a motor vehicle near their house. The child was found dead inside the vehicle. The people began to express various views in this regard.   

The news spread all over the village that the concerned child was found inside a motor vehicle near their house

A person called Buhari who is employed in the Eastern University as a person in-charge of discipline had his house situated in close proximity to the house of the parents of the child. He was engaged in domestic activities while his car had been parked opposite his house. When he opened the front door of his car at about 5.30 pm on this fateful day, he was shocked at the sight of a small child lying below the front seat. As he had already got the information about the missing child, he made arrangements to admit the child to the Akkaraipattu hospital with the assistance of the neighbours. By that time, everything had happened. The child who had been inside the vehicle for more than five hours had breathed his last.   

Later, the Akkaraipattu hospital had informed the Akkaraipattu Police about this incident and the Police OIC Chief Inspector, Saman Kumara had informed the incident to DIG Nuwan Wedasinghe and subsequently to SP and OIC of Ampara Division Samantha Wijesekera. With the directions of the above officers, investigations had been launched into this incident by the Chief Inspector Saman Kumara. Later, the crime investigations officers of the Ampara Police had commenced investigations. When these officers had checked the vehicle, they had found some accessories in front of the vehicle missing. The air freshener used for the vehicle had been detached and the Police found it difficult to find out the reason for this death.   

This type of tragedy could happen when children are left behind to while away time on their own

The Akkaraipattu Acting Magistrate who came to the spot ordered the Police to hold the post mortem examination. As the Judicial Medical Officer of Akkaraipattu general hospital was on leave, the Police Officers intervened and made arrangements to bring the Judicial Medical Officer A. Ilangowan from Colombo to hold the post mortem examination. He had returned a verdict of a death caused due to choking. Some body parts of this child had been sent to the Government Analyst for further investigations. Accordingly, it is expected that the real cause of his death will be revealed in due course.   

This type of tragedy could happen when children are left behind to while away time on their own. This tragedy had taken place when the child had been sent to a boutique alone. It has been revealed at the Police investigations that this child had a great liking to vehicles. According to a witness, the child was unable to come out of the vehicle when he entered it because the door of the vehicle had become automatically locked. However, sending children alone for various purposes generally ended up in a tragedy.   

Further investigations were being carried out by a team of Police officers including the officers of the Crime Investigations Division with the instructions of the DIG Nuwan Wedasinghe on the directions of Ampara Division OIC SP Samantha Wijesekera.   

In a society created on the influence of science and technology, man-made tragedies seem to be worse than natural disasters. The main reason is the carelessness and the negligence of man. These tragedies can be averted by man himself. May wiser counsel prevail.   

Courtesy: Sunday Lankadeepa