SRI LANKA: State cannot neglect duty to

protect child sold in Kandy

Two days later, on March 28, the police by chance got a tip off, by an informant over the phone, that
a child was being sold. The police rushed to the spot, and found a boy with injury marks on his body.

April 3, 2015
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information of an 8-yearold boy who was recently kidnapped, sold, and by chance rescued. However, by
willfully neglecting their responsibilities, the court, the police, and the Probation
Department have returned the boy to the very same vulnerable environment that saw

the boy being kidnapped and traded. The life of the child is in peril. However, the Sri
Lankan State, which, as per law, is the caretaker of children in Sri Lanka, has chosen
to abdicate its responsibility. The case is symptomatic of the vulnerability of children in
Sri Lanka, who have, in recent times, been increasingly subject to various forms of
cruelty, such as: corporal punishment, exploitation, and physical and sexual abuse.
The AHRC urges the Sri Lankan government to take all measures to implement its
obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional
Protocols and to follow its own laws. The future of Sri Lanka is its children, and their
dignity and respect must be upheld by the State, which cannot abdicate responsibility.
CASE NARRATIVE:
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information about a child
having been sold in Katugastota Police Division, Kandy District, Sri Lanka, on 28
March 2015. The mother of the boy, a resident of Ambatenna, Katugastota Police
Division, Kandy District, made a complaint to the Katugastota Police Station, stating
that her 8-year-old boy was missing. The police officers accepted the complaint but did
not commence investigation, despite the mother providing details and information on
suspects.
Two days later, on March 28, the police by chance got a tip off, by an informant over
the phone, that a child was being sold. The police rushed to the spot, and found a boy
with injury marks on his body. The police questioned the boy and from the child
learned about his kidnappers. With the childs help the police were able to apprehend
not only the kidnappers, but also the buyer, and were able to recover Rs. 50,000 the
boys price that had changed hands. All three persons arrested, were produced before
the Acting Magistrate of Kandy, and two of them, both women, were immediately
released on personal bail, while the third suspect, a man, was remanded. The child
was then handed over to his natural mother.
While it may appear that the balance has been restored while the process of justice
takes its course, what the Acting Magistrate has done, along with the police and the
Probation Department is place the child right back where it is most vulnerable. It turns
out the mother is desperately impoverished, and faces great difficulty in taking care of
her four children. Her legal husband is chronically ill and bedridden. In these
circumstances, she began cohabiting with another man, leaving her children
untended. It turns out her lover is one of the persons accused of having kidnapped
and sold the boy.
In the processing of this case, already, various departments of government have failed
the boy. Firstly, the police were reluctant to investigate the boys disappearance and
refused to follow the mothers leads. It is only by luck that they received a tip-off, and
only with the help of the boy were able to apprehend the three suspects. Next, it is the
duty of the police to investigate the ground realities and apprise the Magistrate of the
same. In this case, the police needed to inform the Magistrate that the woman and
man accused of kidnapping the boy reside in the community and that the man is none
other than the mothers lover. This information would help the Magistrate decide on
bail and on granting custody of the boy. However, the police have not even provided

information that the child has been kidnapped by those who are in the position of
being the childs guardians.
As far as the court goes, it should have been a Magistrate and not an Acting
Magistrate hearing the case. Nevertheless, the Acting Magistrate could have asked
the Probation Officer to file a report, something that was not done. Going through the
motions, the Acting Magistrate simply granted bail to two of the accused, simply on
them being women, and handed the child to the mother, without checking whether
such actions would keep the child safe.
Police officers had informed the court that when the boy was discovered several
injuries were noticed on his body. Yet, neither the police nor the Acting Magistrate
sought to ensure medical care was provided to the child. Also, it is the duty of all state
officers to direct the child to a Psychiatric Clinic for assessment and treatment, which
they failed to do. His mother later admitted the child to the Kandy Teaching Hospital for
treatment. A Consultant Judicial Medical Officer has yet to examined the child for
judicial purposes.
Handing over the injured child to the mother and relatives who reside in close
proximity to the suspects shows the insensitive nature of the system and abdication of
responsibility. The child, the prime witness, in addition to other witnesses, has been
endangered with the Acting Magistrate granting bail to two of the suspects, without
criminal investigation having been conducted.
Lastly, it is the responsibility of the State to ensure the childs education is not
interrupted, which has happened in this case. The court needs to take appropriate
measures to protect the childs right to continue his education. By overlooking all
these, the State apparatus has proven itself to be lacking.
The Asian Human Rights Commission requests the State of Sri Lanka to take effective
measures to implement its obligations regarding the UN Convention on the Rights of
the Child and all its Optional Protocols, which it has signed. It is the duty of law
enforcement agencies to uphold and implement the rule of law. Protection should be
afforded for every child of Sri Lanka.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
According to Sri Lankan law, the state is the ultimate caretaker of every child in the
country. The district court is vested with all powers as the supreme guardian of the
child. It is thus the responsibility of law enforcement agencies and their officers to
monitor the situation of children and report the situation for appropriate measures to
be taken by the Judiciary. Presently, there are several state agencies such as the
Probation Department, Social Welfare Department, Women and Child Care Bureau,
Police Department and finally the Grama Niladary (village level state officers), all of
which are individually and collectively responsible to protect children. However, state
officers, despite similar incidents having occurred in different parts of the country in
recent times, have ignored demands for the effective protection of children. There
have been several incidents of mothers jumping into rivers along with their children,
having been unable to bear the suffering of desperate impoverishment.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please request the authorities to prosecute those proven to be responsible for
misusing and ignoring the powers of the State. All officers involved must be subject to
internal investigations for breach of department orders. Request the NPC and the IGP
to conduct a special investigation into the malpractices of all the state officers for
abuse of power.
Please note that the AHRC has also written a separate letter to the Chairperson, UN
Committee on the Rights of the Child, on this regard.
To support this case, please click here:
SAMPLE LETTER:
Dear .,
SRI LANKA: State Cannot Neglect Duty to Protect Child Sold in Kandy
Name of the victim: Name of child has not been revealed for obvious reasons
Alleged perpetrators: Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of Katugastota Police Station, Kandy
District
Date of incident: 28 March 2015 to Present
Place of incident: Katugastota Police Division, Kandy District, Sri Lanka
I am writing to express my serious concern over the case of a child being sold by
several alleged suspects in Katugastota Police Division in Kandy District on 28 March
2015. The mother of the child, a resident of Ambatenna in Katugastota Police Division,
Kandy District, made a complaint to the Katugastota Police Station, stating that her
child was missing since 26 March 2015. According to the victim, the police officers
accepted the complaint but did not take appropriate measures to investigate the
complaint and interrogate the individuals responsible for the crime.
Two days later on March 28, following fresh information given by an independent
informant, the police arrested three persons along with the missing child. After
questioning the child, police officers were able to recover the Sri Lankan Rs. 50 000
paid for the child by the buyer, and the buyer herself.
Later, all three participants in the crime were arrested by the police. Along with the
child victim, the three suspects were produced before the Acting Magistrate of Kandy
and two of them were released on personal bail, while the third suspect was
remanded. The child was then handed over to his natural mother.
Police officers informed the courts that when the child was discovered, they noticed
several injuries on his body. He was later admitted to the Kandy Teaching Hospital for
treatment by his mother, and is yet to be examined by the Consultant Judicial Medical
Officer (JMO) for judicial purposes.
The police investigation subsequently revealed that the desperately impoverished
mother faced great difficulty in taking care of her four children, with her legal husband
chronically ill and bedridden. She then started living with another man and left the
children alone.

The childrens stepfather was also among the three suspects arrested and said to be
responsible for the crime. Presently the life of the child is in danger as he was handed
over to relatives, who live close by to the suspects. The witnesses are also in danger
as the Acting Magistrate released two of the suspects without considering the
conclusion of the criminal investigation.
Neither the police nor the Acting Magistrate paid attention to provide medical care to
the child, despite the marks of several injuries on his body. Furthermore, it was the
duty of all state officers to direct the child to the Psychiatric Clinic for assessment and
treatment, which they failed to do.
This was a clear case of kidnapping a child from its legal guardianship, which was not
reported to the court. This amounts to ignoring the law of the country by law
enforcement officers.
The Magistrate must take steps to investigate all officers who have ignored their
duties. The childs future protection must be observed by the Probation Department
Officers and measures arranged at the time of releasing the child to the mother.
The education of the child has been ignored and interrupted in this case. The courts
must take appropriate measures to protect the childs right to continue his education.
By overlooking all these factors, the state apparatus has proven itself lacking.
I therefore request your urgent intervention with the authorities listed below. Please
ask that they instigate an immediate investigation into the allegations of selling a child
and bring the responsible people before justice. There has also to be prosecution of
the responsible persons for misusing the powers of the state by ignoring the
implementation of law. All officers involved must be subject to internal investigations
for breach of department orders in their respective departments.
Yours sincerely,
------------------------------------PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Mr. N.K. Illangakoon
Inspector General of Police (IGP)
New Secretariat
Colombo 1
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 440440
Email: com@police.lk
2. Mr. Yuvanjana Jawaharlal Wanasundera Wijayatilake, PC
Attorney General
Attorney General's Department
Colombo 12
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 436421
3. Chief Justice

Office of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka

Superior Courts Complex
Colombo-12
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94-11-2437534
4. Secretary
National Police Commission
3rd Floor Rotunda Towers
109 Galle Road
Colombo 03
SRI LANKA
Tel/Fax: +94 11 2 395960
Email: polcom@sltnet.lk
5. Secretary
Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka
No 108 Barnes Place
Colombo 07
SRI LANKA
Tel: +94 11 2 694 925+94 11 2 694 925 / 673 806
Fax: +94 11 2 694 924 / 696 470
Email: sechrc@sltnet.lk
6. Mrs. Natasha Balendra
Chairperson National Child Protection Authority
National Child Protection Authority,
No. 330, Thalawathugoda Road,
Madiwela,
Sri Jayawadrenapura,
Sri Lanka.
Tel: +94 11 2 778 911 4 (Ext:121)
Fax: +94 11 2 778 915
Email: chairperson@childprotection.gov.lk