www.themorning.lk LATE CITY VOL 01 | NO 01 | Rs. 30.00 { MONDAY } MONDAY, JANUARY 25, 2021 ‘THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO DISCIPLINE IN THIS COUNTRY’ ILLUSION ART SL TARGETS A HISTORICAL, BREACHES THE $ 13 B EXPORTS SOCIOLOGICAL IN 2021 ANALYSIS LANKAN INTERWEBS »SEE PAGE 4 »SEE PAGE 10 »SEE PAGE 18 »SEE PAGE 15 Suspended sentence over GOSL to quantify prison for statutory rape z Proposals to allow underage love marriages and teen abortions in exceptional cases BY RUWAN LAKNATH JAYAKODY age of 16, has consented to of Justice Udaya Rohan De missing persons A legal amendment is sexual intercourse. Silva PC told The Morning. being drafted to change the If necessary, compensation Currently, Section 363(e) provisions in the Penal Code too can be ordered to be of the existing Penal Code, z Why now, Wigneswaran z Govt. duty is to find out what regarding statutory rape to paid in connection with the as amended through Act No. asks President happened: Dr. Paikiasothy allow for magistrates to offence. 22 of 1995, defines statutory be afforded the power to, “These alternatives, rape as “with or without her BY PAMODI WARAVITA However, Secretary to the allege that there are 40,000 depending on the individual proposed as amendments in consent when she is under The Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) appointed Ministry of Foreign Affairs missing persons. This is a hugely circumstances of each such this regard, mean that young 16 years of age, unless the recently to probe the findings made by various previously Admiral Prof. Jayanath Colombage exaggerated and unsubstantiated case, grant suspended jail persons (understood in law to woman is his wife who is instituted commissions and committees of inquiry into told The Morning on 22 January figure. Reports by the United term sentences to offenders include those below the age over 12 years of age and alleged human rights and humanitarian law violations in that the numbers of missing persons Nations (UN) also offer conflicting below the age of 22 years, of 22 years) and minors are is not judicially separated connection with the three-decade-long war has also been which have been published so far views on the matter, where some convicted of such in the event not sentenced to jail,” Chief from the man”. tasked with arriving at an accurate figure for the number of have been exaggerated. say 70,000 and others say 7,000”. the girl in question, below the Legal Advisor to the Ministry Contd. on page 2 persons who went missing or disappeared during the war. “Some foreign politicians Contd. on page 3 PRESIDENTIAL CRITICISM OF CUSTOMS COLOMBO’S CLEAN CLASSES DG promises automation in 5 months BY HIRANYADA DEWASIRI corruption and inefficiency, and Maj. and we would be able to see a lot of Following President Gotabaya Gen. Ravipriya told The Morning changes then.” Rajapaksa singling out Sri Lanka yesterday (24) that systems are being During the “Gama Samaga Customs for severe criticism, Customs put in place to combat these issues. Pilisandara” programme held in Director General Maj. Gen. (Retd.) “What the President was referring to Kalutara on 23 January, the President Vijitha Ravipriya has pledged to was that the essential steps to combat raised concerns that although he automate systems within Customs inefficiency and corruption in Sri has taken steps to make Maj. Gen. to eliminate corruption and to increase Lanka Customs have not been taken Ravipriya the Head of Customs, the efficiency within five months. yet. The automation of the Customs progress the President had envisioned The President criticised Customs system will be completed and be fully has not been achieved yet. for failing to adequately eliminate operational in four to five months, Contd. on page 3 Negligent prison officials to be banished BY HEMANTHA LIYANAPATHIRANA Steps will be taken to transfer executive- grade officials of the Prisons Department, who have failed to properly supervise the operations of prisons in Colombo, to remote Health workers disinfecting an O/L students’ classroom at D.S. Senanayake College, Colombo in preparation for the reopening of areas, Commissioner General of Prisons schools yesterday (24) Thushara Upuldeniya told The Morning PHOTO SAMAN ABESIRIWARDANA (24) yesterday. This decision has been taken after COVID VACCINES considering information received suggesting Plastic surgery island that these officials have aided and abetted NMRA reviewing in illegal activities taking place within prisons instead of stifling them, he said. Sputnik V and for leprosy patients He also said this decision will initially z 99-acre hospital to offer z SL sees 2,000 new be implemented in the Welikada Prison, reconstructive services leprosy cases annually the Magazine Prison, and the Colombo Bharat Biotech Remand Prison, and that thereafter steps BY LAHIRU POTHMULLA BY PAMODI WARAVITA to the Ministry of Health and hope will be taken to restructure all prisons Two Covid-19 vaccines, namely the The Anti Leprosy Campaign that we would be able to receive islandwide. Russian-made Sputnik V and the Indian- (ALC) of the Ministry of Health the necessary fund allocations for If repeated allegations are levelled against made COVAXIN by Bharat Biotech, have hopes to build a facility to provide the construction of a reconstructive such officials, then action will be taken to been submitted to the National Medicines reconstructive services for leprosy services facility in Mantheevu,” keep them in the pool, where officers who Regulatory Authority (NMRA) seeking patients at a part of the 99-acre ALC Director Dr. Champa are deemed unfit for official work are kept approval for use in Sri Lanka. Mantheevu Island Leprosy Hospital Aluthweera told The Morning separated from operational work. NMRA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr. in Batticaloa, The Morning learnt. yesterday (24). Contd. on page 3 Kamal Jayasinghe told The Morning that the “We have submitted a proposal Contd. on page 2 documents for COVAXIN were submitted on 22 January. Contd. on page 2 ‘SriLankan tickets among costliest’ COVID-19 CASES z Returnees complain; airline blames low passenger volumes BY DINITHA RATHNAYAKE Pathirage regarding the said claim, schedule for these flights is vastly ACTIVE CASES TOTAL CASES SriLankan Airlines’ air ticket prices he said the prices of air tickets could different from the process for the have not decreased in the height of the be expensive due to the low volume regular routes. Many SriLankan pandemic, with passengers who have of passengers. He noted that the state Airlines flights operating as cargo 58,428 returned to Sri Lanka on repatriation airline claims return flight-related flights are now bringing migrant DEATHS RECOVERED flights complaining that the national charges from passengers who are workers home. This is expensive carrier’s prices are much higher than repatriates. due to the cost incurred to pick 8,464 280 49,684 those of competitor airlines, The “For example, airlines are up passengers from the foreign SOURCE: HEALTH PROMOTION BUREAU Morning learnt. adding repatriation flights based destination having to be added to THE ABOVE STATISTICS ARE CONFIRMED UP UNTIL 8.30 P.M. ON 24 JANUARY 2021 When The Morning spoke to on demand to bring people home. the return cost,” he said. SriLankan Airlines Chairman Ashok Understandably, tracking down the Contd. on page 3 42 www.themorning.lk { NEWS } Monday, January 25, 2021 Contd. from page 1 to impose mandatory minimum sentencing in pregnant as a result, the girl’s family including necessary amendments to the Penal Code and others, recommended the amendment of the Suspended... cases of serious offences. parents won’t tell the Police that there was a the Code of Criminal Procedure, had in the proviso to Section 364(2), as amended by the Section 364(2) of the Code, as amended by The Cabinet of Ministers on 18 January consensual relationship, but instead will say the course of its inquiries and deliberations into Act No. 22 of 1995, to provide for that only the aforementioned Act, in its proviso which decided to amend the law in question “to suit boy abducted the girl, and then unfortunately, such was now hoping to submit proposals to a girl over 15 years of age can give consent deals with the punishment for the same holds the present circumstances” as according to as per the law, the Attorney General (AG) the effect to consider allowing marriage in to sexual intercourse for the purpose of the that “where the offence is committed in respect them, “there is a contradiction in the law”. files a case and the accused upon conviction such exceptional circumstances, and also to proviso; to impose a sentence less than the of a person under 16 years of age, the court The proposal presented by the Minister of is sentenced to jail. The girl is then left on her provide for abortion, under medical advice, mandatory 10 years in circumstances, which the may, where the offender is a person under 18 Justice to instruct the Legal Draftsman to own in a situation where no one will help. All if the girl does not wish to go ahead with the court considers relevant in deciding to impose years of age and the intercourse has been with draft amendments to the Penal Code was thus of this is because of the presumption that a girl pregnancy by taking it to term. a lesser sentence; or discharge the accused the consent of the person, impose a sentence of approved. below 16 years of age cannot consent. This is De Silva further noted that doctors without proceeding to conviction upon the court imprisonment for a term less than 10 years”. Speaking to The Morning further with a rather sad state of affairs.