A man accused of attempting to run over and kill a police officer with a vehicle has been sentenced by the Colombo High Court to 15 years of rigorous imprisonment.
The individual, identified as a drug trafficker, had approximately 17 years ago attempted to run over an officer from the Police Narcotics Bureau during a drug raid in the Dehiwala-Nedimala area.
Accordingly, Colombo High Court Judge Lanka Jayaratne delivered the sentence yesterday (02).
In addition to the prison sentence, the accused was fined Rs. 10,000.
The incident occurred on January 17, 2008, when the accused was travelling in a car carrying a stock of narcotics through the Dehiwala-Nedimala area.
The Police had signalled him to stop. At that moment, the accused allegedly attempted to run over a sergeant from the Police Narcotics Bureau, causing serious injuries. Based on these allegations, the Attorney General filed charges against him.
After a lengthy trial, the judge declared that the accused was found guilty of the charges. Announcing the verdict, the High Court Judge stated that the charges brought against the accused had been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
She further noted that the actions of the accused could not be taken lightly and thus imposed the sentence accordingly. (Newswire)