Susani’s Story: Ignorance of Law

"When she was eleven Susani’s mother was imprisoned for selling drugs and she was placed in the care of her grandmother. At that time a friend of her father who was 23-years-old was hiding in their house because the police were looking for him because of an alleged murder. This man was interested in Susani who did now like or trust him; she therefore ignored him completely. One day while Susani was in alone at Bellekkade junction in Ratmalana this young man came by in a van and abducted her."

by Harshi.C.Perera

(September 28, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Susani is a resident of Narahenpita. When she was a child her mother abandoned her and her father to live with another man. Both her parents were imprisoned on several occasions for various crimes which included drug peddling and robberies. Thus, Susani's childhood memories of her parents are not pleasant.

When she was eleven Susani’s mother was imprisoned for selling drugs and she was placed in the care of her grandmother. At that time a friend of her father who was 23-years-old was hiding in their house because the police were looking for him because of an alleged murder. This man was interested in Susani who did now like or trust him; she therefore ignored him completely. One day while Susani was in alone at Bellekkade junction in Ratmalana this young man came by in a van and abducted her.

This man kept Susani in an abandoned house and raped her. However she managed to escape and made her way to her grandmother's house. According to Susani, under the guidance of her grandmother they lodged a complaint with the police. This case is still being heard in the Mount Lavinia court.

Susani went to school up to grade 11 under severe economic difficulties. Being the oldest of six children, after her mother was separated from her father and was imprisoned the burden of Susani and other children lay on the shoulder of her old grandmother, so Susani stopped her schooling.

After her mother was imprisoned, her father was sentenced to capital punishment and also imprisoned. It was due to this grave situation that Susani went in search of a job. With the help of a neighborhood she engaged in prostitution which was quite lucrative income because of her younger age. Her charge for one customer was Rs.3000/= and per day it was more than Rs.10000/=. She reached her customers through her mobile phone. This income fulfilled the needs, not only of her younger brothers and sisters but the entire family. She pleased every customer who came to her and fortunately, never had a sexually transmitted disease.

After sometime she found a young man who was willing to marry her. He loved her and their marriage was registered. She stopped engaging in prostitution after listening to her husband and it was at this time that her mother came home having been released from jail.

One day she was arrested by the police while she was sitting in a restaurant with her husband. She was charged with vagrancy and pleaded guilty because of her ignorance of the law. She simply followed the advice of the police.

Now she is a complainant of two lawsuits; one is about abduction case that was mentioned earlier and the other was about her father’s suspicious death at the prison. Despite the hardships she has experienced Susani still looks like a child. At the next court hearing she is willing to plead guilty and fly home although she had no earlier offences.

"The accused does not have previous convictions, he surrendered to the police; he pleaded guilty on the first date of trial; he offered compensation to the aggrieved party; these amply demonstrate the mitigatory factors." (Kumara v. The Attorney General)

"No offender should be confined to in a prison unless there is no alternative available for the protection of the community and to reform the individual." (Kumara v. The Attorney General)