Retribution for dr. sex maniac

4 September 2014 07:06 pm - 2 - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

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By PushpaKumara Mallawarachchi & Hubert Fernando

The wheels of justice turn slowly, but grind exceedingly fine, they say. The wheels of justice for an innocent young girl who had to die at the hands of a sex maniac while fighting to protect her purity “ground exceedingly fine” last week reinforcing the popular belief both in our judicial system and in the law of retribution.

The victim thus served with justice, though posthumously was a garment factory worker who was raped, strangled and pushed down from the sixth floor of the Negombo General Hospital in November 2007. The Negombo High Court on Wednesday found the accused, a medical officer of the hospital guilty of rape and murder. He was sentenced to death.

The beauty Chamila Dissanayake who became the victim of a black sheep of a noble profession who turned a beast was the fourth child of a peasant family of eight children at Thampawela, Dambagalla, off Moneragala.

Chamila had studied up to the GCE (OL) at the Thampawela government school. She soon realised that her father, a paddy cultivator could not afford to give her a higher education. She decided to find a job as early as possible so that she could contribute her share towards giving a good education to her younger sisters and brothers.

Chamila eventually secured a job at a garment factory in the Katunayake Free Trade Zone, thanks to the assistance extended by a relative. During the four years of work at the garment factory, she saved from her measly monthly salary every cent she could, sparingly meeting her personal needs, to send home the maximum amount of money possible. And she was quite happy with the sacrifice she was making for the sake of her siblings.

Meanwhile, Chamila developed a breast abscess. On the advice of a private physician she got herself admitted to Negombo General Hospital where she underwent surgery. She was asked to regularly attend the surgical clinic for post-operative care and treatment, once discharged from hospital.

Chamila attended the surgical clinic

at Negombo General Hospital on November 12, 2007 hoping for quick recovery for she cherished many an aspiration for the future. However, fate had decreed that it was to be her last day in life.

The medical officer who was to be her killer lured the unsuspecting girl to his quarters on the 6th floor of the hospital building where she realised too late to her shock and horror that the suave doctor had inveigled her into accompanying him was for a purpose which was a far cry from medical care.

Negombo Police following investigations arrested the accused medical officer, Indika Sudarshana Balage.

The wheels of justice moved slowly, but surely and the case was committed to Negombo High Courts in due course, where State Counsel Navaratne Marasinghe from the Attorney General’s Department led the prosecution.

Prasanna Lal Alwis PC on the instructions of Thusitha Malawithanthri, attorney-at-law looked after the interests of the aggrieved party.

After the indictment served on him being read out in open court, the accused gave his consent for trial without a jury.

Giving evidence on the first day hearing at the High Courts, a sanitary worker of the hospital Mohottige Beatrice, 51 told court that she was on duty at the staff rest room on the 7th floor on the day of the incident.

She saw at about 11.30 a.m. that the accused doctor pulling away a sheet of cardboard on which a young female was lying face up.

Later, she heard that a young girl had fallen to the ground from the sixth floor. She later gave a statement to Police and she identified the accused at an identification parade.

Chamila’s roommate at their lodging in Katunayake, G.K. A.K. Dhammika testifying at the trial said: “Chamila was a good girl. She was non-assuming. She would not go out alone. She had a boyfriend, a cousin of hers.”

Dhammika said that she knew that her friend Chamila attended a clinic at the Negombo General Hospital in the morning on November 12, 2007.

Highly concerned that her friend failed to turn up at the hostel at least at 10 in the night, she called at the hospital to ascertain the reason for her unusual absence.

At the hospital she learnt that Chamila had fallen to the ground from an upper floor and was transferred to Ragama General Hospital. At Room Number 6 of the Negombo GH Police officers showed her some items including an umbrella, a handbag, underwear and a pair of slippers, which she identified as those belonging to Chamila.

The deceased’s brother Vasantha Pushpakumara, 33, said that he identified the body of his sister at the Ragama General Hospital.

Among the other witnesses who testified at the hearing were Palugahawela Kapilaratne de Silva, a security guard and Nishantha Padmasiri of Moragoda, an employee of the hospital.

On May 6, 2013, Senior Lecturer attached to the Faculty of Medicine at the Kelaniya University Dr. Bentarage Prasanna Priyanjith Perera gave evidence at the High Court for the prosecution.

He said that he conducted the autopsy- of Chamila Dissanayake on an order from the Gampaha Magistrate.

He said that the girl had died about 1.55 p.m on the day of the incident -November 12, 2007. He also visited the Negombo hospital to obtain more details relating to the death. He noted that the skirt the deceased was wearing at the time of her death was torn and there were blood stains on the back of it. There was an injury on the deceased’s lower lip and she could have sustained this injury during an attempt to forcibly close her mouth.

Dr. Perera said that the girl could have become unconscious while being strangled. The medical evidence produced before court also revealed that the rupture of hymen had resulted in bleeding indicating a sexual assault on her and she was a virgin before death struck her down in unforeseen circumstances.

Inspector S.K. P. Thilak Subasinghe giving evidence said that he was functioning as the OIC of the Crime Division of Negombo Police at the time of the incident. He said he was aware that some tresses of a female and a sheet of taken into custody as products of the case were subjected to a DNA test.

He arrested Dr. Balage in connection with the death of Chamila Dissanayake soon after recording the statement given by the Negombo hospital employee Beatrice.
Giving evidence as a witness for the prosecution Inspector Panadurage Ruwan Pradeep Siriwardena of the Crime Laboratory of the Negombo Police said that on being informed that that the deceased girl’s footwear and underwear had gone missing, a search was conducted by him which led to unearthing these items from a glass panelled room opposite the accused doctor’s quarters at the hospital. He also said that he recovered several other personal effects of the deceased girl wrapped up in a red polyethene paper in this room.

Making a statement from the dock-on March 26 2014, the accused Dr. Indika Sudarshana Balage told Judge M.M.A. Gaffoor that he knew nothing about the incident pertaining to the case.

He said also that Police beat him up and destroyed his life and soul for a crime he never committed.

Senior State Counsel Navaratne Marasinghe making his submission on behalf of the prosecution moved that the courts find the accused guilty. He ,in his submission also said that the deceased girl had been subjected to a sexual assault and the penetration had occurred against her wishes adding that injuries on the genitals were not caused by the fall to the ground. He asserted that the prosecution had established beyond any reasonable doubt that the crime was committed by the accused and by no other person.

President’s Counsel Prasanna Lal Alwis who looked after the interests of the aggrieved party said in his submission that the defence was likely to make out the death of the girl as a case of suicide.

“She was a girl of good character. Please allow no room for tainting her character posthumously.”

Defence Counsel Tanuja Premaratne making his submissions said that there was room for raising a reasonable doubt about the credibility of the evidence given by hospital employee Beatrice.

He also said that courts do not accept what witnesses think as material evidence. The life of the accused cannot be placed in jeopardy on the basis of what witnesses said by way of their assumptions.

He also said that it was possible that the deceased wanted to commit suicide due to pain of mind caused by the sexual assault made by her boyfriend,” the Defence Counsel added.

At the conclusion of the submissions by the prosecution and defence, High Court judge delivered his order finding the accused guilty of rape and murder and imposing 15-year jail term and a fine of Rs.15, 000 for rape and death penalty for homicide.

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Comments - 2

TripleX Friday, 05 September 2014 10:09 PM

Death, Death, Death.

outsider Saturday, 06 September 2014 07:06 AM

Very Sad story ....
But good to see some justice happening!
Some SL doctors are thinking that they are the gods.

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Retribution for dr. sex maniac

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