A doctor who was indicted before the Anuradhapura High Court for sexually assaulting a 25-year-old single mother who had come to his medical centre to remove a previously implanted intrauterine device (IUD) has been found guilty.
According to the Mawbima newspaper, High Court Judge Dr. Nalin de Hewawasam sentenced the accused doctor to 15 years of rigorous imprisonment.
The High Court Judge also ordered the convicted doctor to pay Rs. 1.5 million as compensation to the 25-year-old single mother. If the compensation is not paid, the doctor will be sentenced to an additional three years of imprisonment, the judge warned.
In addition, High Court Judge Dr. Nalin de Hewawasam further ordered the convicted doctor to pay a fine of Rs. 100,000, warning that if the fine is not paid, he will be sentenced to another year of imprisonment.
While delivering the sentence, High Court Judge Dr. Nalin de Hewawasam stated that the prosecution had succeeded in proving the charges against the accused beyond a reasonable doubt.
Accordingly, the High Court Judge declared that the accused was found guilty of the charge of sexual assault brought against him. The sentence was delivered during a re-summoning of the legal proceedings related to this criminal incident before the Anuradhapura High Court.
The doctor sentenced to rigorous imprisonment is a 70-year-old resident of Thisawewa, Anuradhapura. He was previously arrested by the Anuradhapura Police, presented before the Anuradhapura Magistrate’s Court, and later released on bail.
Court proceedings revealed that the offence was committed at the private medical centre operated by the accused in the Thisawewa area of Anuradhapura on or around January 20, 2020. The accused had previously served at the Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital and Ranaviru Hospital.
It is reported that this marks the first time in the history of a court in Sri Lanka’s North Central Province that such a severe prison sentence has been handed down to a doctor for a criminal offence. (Newswire)
