Four policemen cleared of assault charges in jeep collision case

By Lakmal Sooriyagoda

Four policemen charged with assaulting an individual following a head-on collision involving two jeeps have been acquitted by the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court due to insufficient evidence to support the assault charges.

According to the prosecution, the alleged accident occurred on January 24, 2020, at Keppetipola Mawatha, Colombo 5. The complainant claimed he was driving a Land Cruiser jeep through Police Park and attempting to turn left onto Keppetipola Mawatha when the policemen’s 4DR jeep, travelling in the same direction, collided with his vehicle. It was further alleged that following the accident, the four policemen assaulted the complainant. They were subsequently charged under Sections 32 and 314 of the Penal Code for assaulting the complainant and committing punishable offences.

During the trial, the complainant testified that one of the policemen assaulted him for about one or two minutes. However, during cross-examination by Senior Counsel Ian Fernando, the complainant admitted he had no visible external injuries.

The defence argued that the incident involved only an aggressive verbal exchange and not physical assault. They further contended that the medical report, which showed no evidence of injuries, was unreliable as it was not corroborated by testimony from the examining doctor.

The prosecution also called the complainant’s mother, who was in the car at the time of the alleged incident, and a former Officer in Charge (OIC) of Cinnamon Gardens Police as witnesses. During cross-examination, the former OIC admitted that there were no visible injuries to support even a claim of simple assault under Section 314 of the Penal Code. He also acknowledged his failure to refer the alleged assault to the mediation board and admitted to moving to remand the policemen without sufficient grounds.

After evaluating the evidence, Colombo Chief Magistrate Thilina Gamage acquitted the four accused in the assault case.

Counsel Rasika Sajeewa represented the first accused, while Senior Counsel Ian Fernando, along with Chamila Abeyarathne and Sithumi Rathnayake, instructed by Derek Fernando Associates, represented the other accused. The complainant was represented by the Cinnamon Gardens Police Traffic Division, with Counsel Anuradha Gunawardena appearing for the aggrieved party.

On a previous occasion, another police officer charged with committing multiple traffic offences related to this incident was acquitted by the Colombo Traffic Magistrate’s Court due to the prosecution’s insufficient investigation and its failure to identify the accused and the crime scene.