News
Curb on threewheelers called for as drivers show criminal bent
The threewheeler involved in the recent Matara incident (Left) and (right) a woman points to the spot on Nilwala River where the victim was found. Pix by Krishan Jeewaka Jayaruk
The brutal assault, robbery and attempted murder of a woman in Matara by a threewheeler driver earlier this week highlights how the vehicle is increasingly being used for criminal activities.
The 57-year-old victim had been waiting for a bus to travel home when a three-wheeler had stopped and the driver offered to drop her.
The victim had mentioned that she needed to get off near the Godagama exit of the Southern Expressway. The driver however, had driven the vehicle to a lonely road some distance away and assaulted her with a tool used to remove tyres.
The victim had lost consciousness during the assault and the driver had robbed her of her jewellery and money. She had then been dragged along the road and thrown into the Nilwala River.
The driver had ruthlessly thrown her into an area of the river infested by crocodiles.
The victim later explained that she had drifted in and out of consciousness and had felt that she was being dragged to a place far away.
Though injured, the woman had later been rescued by residents of the area. The suspect driver was subsequently arrested by the police. He has been identified as a 26-year-old residing in Karagoda, Uyangoda and is a known drug addict.
The incident is one of many that troubles innocent passengers face on a daily basis. Threewheelers, once considered a convenient and safe mode of travel by the public, have now turned into something dangerous.
The Piliyandala Police stated that there have been reports from the area of similar robberies carried out by threewheeler drivers.
“A recurring incident is where threewheel drivers enter bars and befriend men decked in chains, bracelets etc. They offer to buy the individual a drink and add some kind of a substance to drug them. The driver then volunteers to drop the individual home and the next thing the victim knows is that he has fallen on the roadside bereft of his chain etc ,” an officer of the Piliyandala Police said.
Police pointed out that these activities are carried out because many threewheel drivers face economic issues or are drug addicts.
The Mirihana Police also said there were many instances where threewheeler drivers had escaped with the passenger’s goods after leaving them at deserted areas.
“In a very recent incident that occurred in Colombo, a person who was drunk was put into a threewheeler by his colleague to be dropped off at Gangaramaya. But he had been robbed by the driver. Despite the victim noting down the number of the vehicle the only thing we found out was that the threewheeler was from Kurunegala and the vehicle has never sighted Colombo,” an officer said.
The police also added that robberies aren’t the only illegal activities that threewheeler drivers engage in. They are also involved in transporting sex workers in the Colombo area for which they are paid a commission by the brothels.
Despite threewheeler drivers being involved in illegal and criminal activities there are some who are of valuable assistance to the police.
The Community Police stated that there are threewheeler committees attached to police stations who provide valuable information on any illegal activities carried out by fellow threewheeler drivers in the area.
The system of monitoring threewheelers by registering them with police stations is one tactic aimed at minimising the number of crimes carried out using threewheelers. This system has been operating efficiently for many years under a low profile.
Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Traffic Palitha Fernando told the Sunday Times that threewheelers are being registered in police stations and stickers are given to them.
He said the registration of threewheelers is carried out by the respective associations.
Former DIG of Traffic Amarasiri Senarathne said that this procedure of keeping records of the threewheelers is carried out as a means of identifying vehicles in the area and to control crimes and illegal activities involving threewheelers.
“We don’t only follow this procedure for threewheelers. This procedure is carried out for all public transport as a means of providing safety and assurance to the public,” he said.
He emphasised that there has to be regulations for threewheeler drivers. Currently, there are virtually no such restrictions and this has resulted in chaos and inconvenience to the passengers.
He stated that these regulations have to be introduced by the Minister of Transport and implementation has to be carried out by the provincial councils as public transport comes under their purview.
Meanwhile, President of All Island ThreeWheeler Drivers Association Lalith Dharmasekera said that neither threewheeler associations nor the government implements a specific registration scheme for trishaws.
He explained that records of trishaws are only available with the vehicles registrar, vehicle revenue license registration authority and area police stations.
“The records that are available do not give information on trishaws used for hiring and for private use, and there are no regulations,” he said.
He explained that the police and the officials of the Transport Ministry say that there are around 1.2 to 1.3 million threewheelers but there has been no credible survey to prove this.
“When it comes to incidences of crime, amateur criminals use the threewheeler as a mode of transport and get caught while travelling. However, when they are caught the police also files a case against the threewheel driver for aiding the crime. But the three-wheel driver is only providing his services,” he said.
He pointed out that currently the police and other authorities blame threewheel drivers for traffic and crimes.
“There are more motorbikes in the country than threewheelers and they are also used for criminal activities but only the threewheelers get a bad rap,” he said.
Mr. Dharmasekera emphasised that despite them having gone to courts on several occasions in the past in order to regulate rules for threewheelers, the government is yet to implement them.
“We have also explained and educated the Transport Ministry officials and previous ministers about the importance of registering threewheelers. They too have not acted upon these suggestions,” he said.
He pointed out that drivers of threewheelers should not be labelled as criminals instead they should be consulted for assistance by the police to capture criminals as they can act as informants.