RIYADH, 20 February 2007 — Four Sri Lankans convicted of armed robbery were executed in Riyadh yesterday, the Interior Ministry announced.
Victor Corea, Ranjith Silva, Santhosh Kumar and Sharmila Sangeeth Kumar were executed for robbing a number of businesses at gunpoint, the ministry said in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency. The gang had wounded several people in a series of holdups.
While confirming the executions, a Sri Lankan Embassy official told Arab News that Ambassador A.M.J. Sadiq was not available for comment as he was consulting the ministry in Colombo regarding the development.
The four were convicted in October 2005. Subsequently on Mar. 10, 2006, High Court Judge Abdul Aziz Al-Musaikri confirmed the verdict pronouncing all four guilty and sentenced them to death.
During the trial, it was proved that the accused had committed three robberies, and were caught red-handed pretending to be municipal workers while driving a municipal vehicle. They had stolen the vehicle from a Bangladeshi, who worked for a municipality contractor, at gunpoint. The Bangladeshi had been shot at and left permanently injured.
An embassy statement said the Sri Lankan government was closely following up the case. Following their conviction and sentencing, former President Chandrika Kumaratunga and President Mahinda Rajapakse both had made clemency appeals to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah.
During their detention in Al-Hair jail, the four men had embraced Islam.
Speaking to Arab News over the phone, Jagath Wellawatte, chairman of the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE), described the incident as unfortunate but reiterated that no one could be exempt from the laws of a host country.
“The SLBFE will consider compensating the bereaved families with its rehabilitation programs,” Wellawatte said.
“Criminal activity is rare among Sri Lankans working abroad,” he said, adding that their loyalty and hard work are well known among employers.
About one million Sri Lankans live and work in the Gulf region. Nearly half of them are in the Kingdom.
