Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka – A sergeant and two constables attached to the Polonnaruwa Divisional Anti-Corruption Unit have been sentenced to seven years of rigorous imprisonment by the Polonnaruwa High Court for the brutal assault, torture, and killing of a hotel manager in the Kaduruwela area.
The incident dates back to World Temperance Day in 2004, when four police officers — including the then OIC of the Polonnaruwa Divisional Anti-Corruption Unit — visited a hotel in Kaduruwela seeking a bottle of liquor. The hotel manager, Herman Quintus Perera, informed them that alcohol would not be served due to the day’s significance.
The refusal enraged the officers, who forcibly took the manager away, brutally assaulted him, and tortured him to death. A post-mortem examination later revealed 26 external injuries on Perera’s body, including 14 severe bruises.
Following the incident, charges were filed against the four police officers, including the former OIC, who passed away during the course of the trial.
Delivering the long-awaited verdict, Polonnaruwa High Court Judge Ruchira Weliwatte sentenced the three surviving officers — a sergeant and two constables — to seven years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs. 15,000 each.
This landmark case was heard periodically over a span of 21 years before 11 different High Court judges, before reaching its conclusion.
