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| Sunday, 24 July 2005 |
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Death of eleven-year old domestic : Hatton, Dickoya stage protest campaign today by M. P. Muttiah The child labour situation in the country has come to the spotlight with the controversial death of an 11-year-old boy employed by a family in Kotahena. Arjunan Loganathan from Veli-Oya Estate, Hatton was found dead under mysterious circumstances on July 5 at the house where he was employed. The parents were shown the body of the boy only at the time of burial. The young boy was last seen on June 28, in good health. However, the parents Velu Arjunan and his wife Muthusamy Pushpavalli were informed that Arjunan had fallen ill by the broker who arranged the employment of the boy. The parents, however, were not permitted to the house of the landlord but were told that their son was having chicken-pox. The parents were given contradictory information on the status of their son by the employer who then said Arjunan had slipped in the toilet and was injured and then that he had been electrocuted. Then the parents were told that Arjunan had committed suicide, stated a non-governmental organisation now working on the controversial death of the child. The NGO, Human Development Organisation (HDO) has also charged that the police had taken a statement from the parents on the death of the child in Tamil but was translated to the Police Officer in Sinhala by the employer. The Sunday Observer also learnt that the death of the young boy was inquired at the Minor Offences Unit of Kotahena police. The organisation also said that the parents could not identify the body as they were not given sufficient time to see it. The body of Loganathan was shown and hurriedly closed, the HDO said. After the burial the parents had been asked to sign a document which they could not understand and were paid 15,000 rupees by the employer. Loganathan's elder sister too was a domestic servant in Maradana. Both were brought to Colombo by an agent. According to his sister, her father threatened her that he would severely punish her in case she divulged the matter to anyone on the estate. The Assistant Judicial Medical Officer 's report has said the death was a suicide. Head of the National Child Protection Authority Dr. Hiranthi Wijemanna told the Sunday Observer that the NCPA had not been informed of the death. "We will be looking into the incident. This is a grave violation of children's rights. This involves child labour and death of a child under suspicious circumstances." Under the Sri Lankan law employing children under 15 is illegal and punishable by law. Over one hundred children from five divisions of Veli Oya Estate are currently employed as domestic servants in Colombo, according to local sources. A campaign against child labour and child abuse will be in Hatton and
Dickoya today. |
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