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Crimes today are more brutal and sudden, say experts
An army officer was found dead near the bus stand in Pasyala, Aththanagalla area around 1.30am on Friday (February 21) with his throat sliced open and stab wounds on his back.
His mobile phone, National Identity Card and bank card were found near the body.
The 25-year-old man, Ruwan Sameera Jayawickrema, a father of one, was last seen at a Ja-Ela camp at round 6pm the previous day. He was attached to the Panagoda Army Camp.
This was one among a string of murders which have been reported during the past few weeks, at least two homicides being reported daily.
Earlier this week an open verdict was reported into the death of a police inspector attached to the Intelligence Division of the Mount Lavinia Police. His body was found in a paddy field last Sunday (February 16) at Godagama.
Police spokesman SSP Ajith Rohana said IP G.W.M. Samarakoon had apparently committed suicide by shooting himself in the head with his official firearm. His firearm and NIC were found close to his body.
Athurugiriya police are yet to ascertain, however, whether the deceased had committed suicide or whether he was murdered.
The coroner who had conducted the post mortem gave an open verdict on the death.
A number of reasons have been attributed to the trend of murders with some of those being murdered in the most brutal manner.
“Nowadays people are more aggressive and have less control over themselves which ultimately results in fatalities,” said Attorney Dr. Ranjith Fernando, criminal lawyer of the Court of Appeal.
He said many murders nowadays were caused by sudden flare-ups and personal animosities rather than being premeditated acts of crime.
Personal disputes, poverty or property disputes were among the main causes of most of such killings. “People are more vulnerable to the difficulties that they are going through,” he noted.
His view was that the death penalty was not a deterrent to such crimes.
Contracted murders were on the decline, Dr. Fernando added.
“Trials against murder crimes would be fairer if there are more trained judicial officers. Unlike in the past the verdict relies more on facts than on the law,” Dr. Fernando said.
Civil society activist Mr. Chitral Perera of Janasansadaya said that in a system dominated by extra judicial factors no one feared to commit crimes such as murders.
“There is a large group in our society above the law of the country. It is not only the most powerful or richest persons but also members of the ordinary public who feel they could act in a manner beyond the law,” he said.
Citing the court case against the OIC of the Payagala Police over charges of allegedly torturing a person in custody for five days, causing death with 42 internal injuries, he said the murder suspect was released on bail within a day and disappeared after three days of trial.
“The media should look into cases deeply and wisely rather than being satisfied with whatever police say. In most of the cases in Sri Lanka the media constantly report the initial incident in a very serious manner but rarely follow up investigations,” Mr. Perera said.
“For instance in the Biyagama village murder case the media gave huge publicity to the case in the beginning, compelling the police to arrest the criminal, and police arrested the wrong person but the media was silent. It was since revealed that the deceased’s son had committed the murder and was arrested but no one reported that,” he said.
Prof. Jayasundara, Head of the Department of Criminology at the University of Jayawardenapura said statistics showed a decrease in murder cases.
“The past few years marked the lowest rate of murder cases in the history of the country,” he said, explaining that in 2011/12 the rate was only 3.5 (per 100,000) whereas before 2005 it was around a minimum of six or seven.
“People tend to believe that there is an increase of murders due to instant reporting by the media and the constant reporting of the same incident by several media channels,” he said.
“Compared to the past there is a slight change in the motives that lead to a murder such as killing over trifles, Facebook and other modern technology,” said the professor.