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| Killings
that shook and shocked Dehiwela The ownership of restaurant was in dispute for the past three years. Originally owned and operated by the Hamer family, later the management of this restaurant changed hands though it continued to be owned by the Hamer family. The Hamer family was embroiled in a legal battle over this 48 perch block of prime land situated along the main Galle road. The judgement on the ongoing court case was due to be delivered on Friday May 9, but on Wednesday night the 78 year old Franklyn Hamer, his son Dieter 33 years of age and daughter 29 year old Daisy Anne were murdered. In their investigations the police are mainly concentrating on the land dispute as one of the main motives connected to the triple murders. The legal battle over the ownership of the land facing the Galle road began three years ago when a former manager of the Chinese food restaurant claimed to have purchased the restaurant in its entirety for half a million rupees from the person who had been in occupation of the tyre shop next door for more than 30 years. The tyre shop was situated on a section of the 48 perch block of land. The owner of the tyre shop had produced a deed for the entire land claiming he was its owner. The case that was subsequently filed in courts challenged the validity of the deed and legal title of ownership to the land. While the legal
battle that ensued was between the owner of the tyre shop and Mr.
Hamer, it had been revealed in courts that the tyre shop owner had
close links to the former manager of the restaurant who had allegedly
purchased the restaurant. Thirty three year old Russel Jerome Kroon who was due to wed Daisy Anne in December this year was a frequent visitor of this house. Mr. Kroon who was for many years residing in London had latterly returned to Sri Lanka and was managing his own business. Daisy had called Russel Kroon on the morning of that fateful day from Mount Lavinia hotel where she was employed as a banquet sales executive and had asked him to take her father to hospital for an X-ray of his injured foot. 'She called me at about 9.00 in the morning on that day and told me to visit her place. As she requested me I visited her home and spoke to uncle (Mr Hamer). He asked me not to worry and that he could manage on his own', Mr. Kroon told The Sunday Times. 'I used the computer in the house for some time and left to Colombo to attend to some work. The maid who assisted the household during day time had come in by that time. Having told her to take care of uncle and I left', he said. Mr. Kroon who lives around the same locality had returned to where he resided late in the night. 'As I usually do, the following morning I phoned Daisy's home, but there was no response. I then called the hotel and was told that she was expected at about 11.30 a.m. Then I decided to visit her place and took the three-wheeler which was regularly hired by me. As soon as I entered the road I saw the maid standing outside the gate. She came running up to me and told me something unusual had happened at the house', he said. 'I immediately rushed into the house and went to Daisy's room and was surprised to see her fully covered lying on bed. I called her and getting no response I raised the bed sheet and to my horror I saw both her hands tied and noticed the stab wounds. Immediately I came rushing outside', Mr. Kroon said. 'Using my mobile I tried to call Daisy's brother who was an executive at the Sampath Bank. They told me that though they were expecting him he had still not turned up. I left a message that there was a problem at home and wanted him to come home immediately. I also informed the Dehiwala police about the incident', he said. The Dehiwala police had arrived at the scene short while later and when they entered the house they found that both Mr. Hamer and his son Dieter too had been brutally murdered. Franklyn Hamer's body was found under the bed while that of his son's was found on the bed. Deiter had his tie round his neck apparently not even having the time to remove it on his return from office. Police believe that Mr. Hamer was the first to be murdered followed soon after by his son and then to be killed was the daughter. The gory incidents resembled the killings that took place in Hokandara where six members of one family were killed one after the other as they returned home. Chief Inspector Upali Senanayake of Dehiwela police told The Sunday Times that though they were continuing with their investigations, they were yet to make a breakthrough in this case. 'We are confident that we can find those responsible for the murder', Mr. Senanayake said. Police have questioned the manager of the restaurant, but he had denied any knowledge about the incident. The murderers had got away with valuable jewellery including those which had been made for the wedding of Russell Kroon and Daisy Anne. The residents in the area are still in a state of shock at the horrifying murders that were committed at their very door step as it were and many of them have adopted their own precautions to prevent such incidents. They fear they are vulnerable to such attacks and repeatedly question as to the kind of protection they could expect from the police. 'We lock our gates to prevent any outsiders entering our gardens. But we know this is not sufficient. Thieves could enter our houses and murder us and get away without any problem', a resident told The Sunday Times. This incident comes at a time when there has been sudden rise in instances of murders and robberies and more often than not many still remain unsolved with no trace of the culprits. The residents keep asking the police to act swiftly and arrest those responsible for this dastardly crime. Difficult
home-coming for thedisplaced in Elephant Pass Having abandoned
their homes when war broke out between the government forces and
the LTTE, these people fled for their lives without most of their
belongings. The villagers are still awaiting the promised compensation and the aid so necessary for the return to normalcy. They feel they have no time to lose nor any time to waste in their quest to return to what they once called home. As a temporary measure these villagers are seen putting up their homes with plastic sheets, sticks and old planks or with whatever they could lay their hands on. For some even the empty ammunition boxes come in handy in their search for shelter. An old man was seen smashing an ammunition box to be used as a door for his home. The enthusiasm to get back to their daily routine is seen everywhere especially in the bustling Mullativu the town visited by the villagers to market the traditional sweet-meats, for the many visitors from the south. PHD
launches programme to upgrade Colombo schools The programme is designed to solicit the support of the corporate sector and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) in particular and civil society in general to provide basic infrastructural facilities to schools in order to ensure a healthy environment for children. The Chief Medical
Officer of Health, Dr. Pradeep Kariyawasam, said the programme was
being carried out under the Healthy Schools Project, which encompasses
70 schools. At least 20 of the 70 schools even lacked basic toilet
facilities, he said. The PHD also carried out a house-to-house inspection and clean up programme in Colombo last Sunday in a bid to prevent another outbreak of dengue. 8,241 houses were inspected during the programme out of which only 386 houses were awarded the 'Green Star Home' sticker for maintaining a clean environment. 512 houses were given notices to clean up their compounds within the deadline, he said. Wellawatte North and South and Pamankade East were reported to be the most unclean areas in the city, Dr. Kariyawasam said. There had been a high incidence of dengue cases in these areas, he added. The second phase of the project covering 24 wards will begin next Sunday (25), he added. AMOs
threaten island-widestrike President of the Society of Registered and Assistant Medical Officers (SRAMO) Dr. Mahinda Liyanage alleged that the Kandy Police had still not begun investigations although the police have been provided with evidence by means of pictures of the attack. Following a meeting with the DIG Kandy on Friday afternoon, the members had decided to launch an island wide strike on Wednesday if the Police fail to begin a thorough investigation. However, Kandy Police HQI told The Sunday Times that investigations have already begun and two vehicle registration numbers have been identified. He said the registration numbers have been given to the Registrar of Motor Vehicles to trace their owners, which he said could lead to other evidence. Presently, 230 Assistant Medical Officers are on strike in the Central Province against the attack carried out allegedly by Provincial Health Minister Saliya Bandara Dissanayake. The total membership of 1550 will go on strike from Wednesday if the members feel that no progress had been made in the investigations. The medical officers were attacked with tomatoes, eggs and brickbats, the association alleged.
A spokesman for the company, Charlton Tours & Transports said, on February 4 the vehicle, a van bearing number 57-1147 was hired by a person named Sarath of Galagedera, Kandy who had paid Rs. 6,000 as an advance promising he will return the vehicle a week later. "He did not return the vehicle on the due date. Later we lodged a complaint at the Kandy Police and they arrested the suspect and released him on bail after the suspect claimed that the vehicle had been forcibly taken by a group of unknown people", the spokesman said. Later the company had received information that the suspect had forged documents and taken the vehicle to Vavuniya and sold it there. Then the vehicle
had been taken to the uncleared area without using the A9 route.
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