Pickpockets head for Colombo for Sinhala and Tamil New Year

Over 100 known pickpockets have arrived in the Sri Lankan capital, according to information received by the Colombo Crimes Division, the ‘Mirror’ reported on Saturday April 6.

Colombo is now crowded with customers for the Sinhalese and Tamil New Year festivals and pickpockets are in the capital to steal their money and valuables.

Seven known pickpockets and 200 other suspects were arrested by the Colombo Crimes Division.

It is reported that these suspects have arrived from Borella, Slave Island, Pettah, Keselwatte, Chilaw and Puttalam.

Entire families of pickpockets have arrived from Chilaw and Puttalam.

Police said most of the pickpockets move about well-dressed to deceive their potential victims.

Two die after inhaling poisonous gas

Two hotel employees died after inhaling poisonous gas on Sunday, when they went down to clean a drainage line in a hotel at Attidiya, Dehiwala. Another was hospitalised after becoming unconscious, the Island newspaper reports.

An employee had initially entered the drainage chamber by breaking a layer of concrete to repair a block in the hotel’s water drainage system.

He became unconscious and another employee entered the chamber to rescue him. However, they both died by inhaling poisonous gas, police said.

Another person who attempted to rescue them both was hospitalised after he too became unconscious.

Coin in throat kills 11-day infant

An eleven-day-old infant, born to a dumb couple, died at the Kandy General Hospital when  a coin got stuck in the infant’s throat.

The coin was detected at the post-mortem examination by the JMO of the hospital.

The infant was rushed to hospital by the mother.

The 26-year-old dumb woman, from Mailapitiya near Hanguaranketha, was taken into custody by the Talatuoya police, who are conducting investigations into the infant’s death.

She was produced before the Kandy Chief Magistrate Ravinda Premaratne, who remanded her till April 18.

The woman, whose husband is also dumb, was living alone at her Mailapitiya home, according to sources.



 

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