By Shehan Chamika Silva
Colombo Chief Magistrate Gihan Pilapitiya upholding the conviction given nine years ago imposed a two years imprisonment on a suspect who had fled the country over the violation of the Immigration and emigration laws by attempting to travel abroad using a forged passport.
In 2007, the CID filed charges against the suspect, Mohammad Aaris Nafras, for violating Immigration and Emigration Act by possessing a fraudulent passport and attempting to travel abroad using it.
However, during the magisterial inquiry, the suspect had fled the country and travel to the United Kingdom.
Later, then Chief Magistrate, Kusala Weerawardena, who is now a High Court Judge in Hultesdorp, issued open warrants on the suspect and allowed to continue the inquiry in the absence of the suspect under the section 192, ‘Trial may proceed in absence of accused’, of the Criminal Procedure Code.
At the end of the inquiry, the court found the suspect culpable over the allegations and the suspect was sentenced to one year imprisonment on two counts, each running consecutively by the Magistrate.
The court had also in the judgment report stated that to find the convict and impose the conviction from the date he would be caught.
After nine years, the convict was caught at the Bandaranayake International Airport by the CID when he arrived to attend his mother’s funeral.
The CID said the convict had arrived in Sri Lanka disregarding the court conviction on several occasions prior to the arrest at BA by the CID recently.
When the case was taken up recently in the presence of the suspect at the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court, the suspect said he has two children and a wife in UK and now holds a valid citizenship in UK.
He pleaded not to uphold the conviction because it has been nine years ago since he had committed the offence.
The Magistrate Pilapitiya upholding the conviction said according to the immigration reports, the suspect had arrived in Sri Lanka several times disrespecting the court orders, therefore court cannot consider any compassion on the suspect. The court was binding to uphold the conviction according to the Law, said Magistrate.
"such an instance would be a precedent to the other people who disregard the law and continue to abscond the court and the prosecution" said Magistrate Pilapitiya.
The CID also said that the suspect could have appealed over the Magistrate’s conviction in High Court if he was present in 2007 when the conviction was given, but according to the law one only allows to do so within the period of two weeks after the conviction and he has no solution rather than going to jail.
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