Following the Rs. 20 million robbery of a jewellery and money exchange centre in Negombo by armed men wearing full face helmets, the need for implementation of the law against wearing such helmets has arisen.

Police spokesman Ajith Rohana said such incidences were the consequences of not having implemented the law earlier.

“In many countries this law is being implemented. When we wanted to implement it, certain sections of the public claimed the law was brought in to assist a high-profile individual engaged in the helmet trade; that was a baseless allegation,” he said.

“Now you see the results it has brought. Even the CCTV camera footage is useless when people wear such helmets and enter jewellery shops or even ATM’s. It is difficult to identify the suspects,” he noted.

“But since we have managed to recover the two motorbikes used for the robberies we will be able to arrest the three men involved in this particular robbery,” he added.

SSP Ajith Rohana said the police wanted the law implemented for two reasons - one because of instances where criminals escaped identification by using tinted visors and the other because of the increase in deaths due to the use of such helmets.

The regulations prohibiting the use of motorcycle helmets which covered the whole face and helmets with tinted visors were brought into effect in November last year prior to CHOGM, but within a week the law was reversed.

According to the regulations brought in by the police, helmets covering the face between the eyebrows and the chin were to be prohibited. (Supun Dias)