Prisons Commissioner Jagath Weerasinghe says 230,980 school students from the Colombo District in the Western Province were found to be addicted to drugs.

Jagath Weerasinghe said, however, the Southern Province boasts a higher number, and is the area pushing the country towards this situation. 

The Prisons Commissioner further said that the South takes the number one position for underworld activities. 

“A high number of children are in prison at present. There are 42 children below the age of 05 due to the wrongdoings of their mothers. The child is allowed to stay with the mother until the age of 05. After that, we separate the mother and child, which is one of the saddest situations,” he said. 

Prisons Commissioner Jagath Weerasinghe made the remarks while addressing the Godapitiya National School in Akuressa, during the programme to create awareness among students on the eradication of drugs. (Newswire)

The post Over 230,000 Colombo district children addicted to drugs appeared first on Newswire.

Prisons Spokesman Jagath Weerasinghe says a total of 19 women are currently on death row in Sri Lanka. 

Jagath Weerasinghe said another 24 women are currently serving life sentences. 

He further said that 225 women are convicted prisoners and 1,304 women are under remand custody.

Jagath Weerasinghe said they are among 1,529 women in 10 prisons across Sri Lanka. 

The Prison Spokesman revealed the details while addressing the media. (Newswire)

The post 19 female death row prisoners in Sri Lanka appeared first on Newswire.

Prisons Media Spokesman Jagath Weerasinghe says Sri Lanka’s prisons currently exceed capacity by 20,000.

Addressing the media today, Jagath Weerasinghe said that the maximum number of prisoners that could be placed in the 36 prisons of Sri Lanka is 12,000.

He said, however, that at present, there were around 33,000 inmates placed in these prisons across the country. 

“Among them, 65% are in remand custody for drug-related offences. We must minimize imprisonment to prevent a major crisis,” the Prisons Media Spokesman said. 

Inquired about the use of mobile phones by inmates, Jagath Weerasinghe explained that most prisons are located in highly populated areas with access to the public.

“Some people throw mobile phones over the prison walls. This has been reported at the Colombo Magazine Prison. Our officers are doing their best to address these situations,” he said. 

The Prisons Media Spokesman further said that the situation has been contained largely with regular search operations being conducted. 

When inquired about imprisoned politicians being placed at the Prison Hospital, instead of prison cells, he said the decision is taken on the recommendations of doctors who have examined the said politicians. 

“Recently, there has been a reduction in such recommendations. All politicians recently imprisoned remain in prison cells,” he revealed. (Newswire)

The post 33,000 prisoners currently in 12,000 capacity SL prisons appeared first on Newswire.