Sandun Malinga, 17, of Kandaketiya, Badulla, was brutally tortured to death on May 18, 2014 by a group of Kandaketiya police officers. The Attorney General had filed indictments in the Badulla High Court (Case No. 01/2015) against six police officers who were then serving in the Kandaketiya Police, alleging that the death of this youth was a manslaughter.
Announcing the verdict in that case on January 09, 2017, the Badulla High Court Judge convicted all the six police officers and sentenced them to death under Section 296 of the Penal Code. This was a historic decision, and the court was commended for concluding a criminal case in a very short period of time.
In this regard, Sandun Malinga’s parents had filed five fundamental rights petitions against the above accused in the Supreme Court in 2014 through Attorney-at-Law Lakshan Dias. SCFR 157/14, 182/14, 183/14, 184/14, 185/14 And ordering that it should be awarded.
Due to the untimely death of the youth due to the illegal activities carried out by several police officers, Sandun Malinga’s parents were left helpless and had to move to another area apart from the area where they lived. In addition, all six police officers involved in the incident have been sentenced to death, leaving six other families in dire straits.
However, we have enacted very important laws to prevent such incidents and have also established the necessary mechanisms to enforce such laws. However, due to the non-functioning of these laws and relevant mechanisms, Sadun Malinga’s life has been lost and his family and six other families have been left completely destitute.
In this case, if the OIC of the relevant police station had inquired about the suspects in his custody, the forensic pathologist who examined Sandun Malinga before he was produced in court would have properly examined him and reported his condition, or the magistrate in court would have inquired from the suspect or his body. If the prison authorities had looked into his health and finally his illness in prison, all seven of these family corporations would have had a better chance of living happily today.
However, not only Sandun Malinga but a large number of people in Sri Lanka have been severely affected by the failure of these four corporations to take the lead in the criminal investigation process. The people of the country paid more attention to this as the responsibility of getting these corporations to function properly is felt more strongly today than ever before.