Sentenced for harassing Japanese woman

12 September 2011 02:30 pm

A man who pleaded guilty for sexually harassing a Japanese woman while she was travelling in a bus at Union Place, Colombo 2 was sentenced to eight months suspended rigorous imprisonment by a Colombo Court today.

While imposing an eight months rigorous imprisonment suspended for seven years on the accused, the Colombo Fort Magistrate further imposed a fine of Rs.1,500 and police were ordered to obtain his finger print. When the accused Abdul Amanullah of Narammala was produced before Magistrate Ms. Lanka Jayaratne by the prison authorities, defence counsel Kingsley Hettiarachchi informed Court that his client was pleading guilty to all charges therefore moved Court that a lenient punishment be meted out against his client.

The defence counsel submitted in Court his client was married and a father of one child. Making a complaint with the Slave Island police, the victimised Japanese woman complained that a person who sat near her in the bus had sexually harassed her, touching her in an inappropriate manner. She had further told police that she was a resident of Kammachi in Japan and arrived in Sri Lanka for a short holiday.

The investigations had revealed that the accused had committed this offence under the influence of alcohol. (Lakmal Sooriyagoda)