Some of my story
I first came to Sri Lanka in 2003 and visited 4 other times before moving in March 2008
In January 2008 I came to Sri Lanka with my step daughter and her 2 children, The idea was that Saman, his wife and daughter would also be with us for the first week at an inland hotel, The wife and daughter could not come due (I was told) to the daughter starting school, (I was unaware that my step daughter and Saman started an affair during this holiday, this “affair” was to have an influence on later events)
Satisfied by my desire to live in Sri Lanka and feeling confident I could trust this family I set about fulfilling the legal aspects of moving here and again 100% trusted Saman to help, I was not financially as well off as many, I only had the balance from the sale of my house in England, I was delighted to find out that I could initially stay here on a 1 year visa on medical reasons, and such a visa meant I did not need to fulfil the financial requirements of having a regular income from UK, (as with nearly everything else this also turned out to be untrue,) buying land with a Sri national is a method used by many to lower the amount of tax payable (100%) on land purchases, I was buying 460 perch of cinnamon land, this was to help provide me with an income, (a survey search later found this land to be 471 perch but due to the moving of a road only 435 perch is cinnamon, the balance being rice paddy on the other side of the road, this has been worked by others for many years and will not be worth reclaiming) I was assured that I was buying the land in accordance with the Sri Lankan law and there was a lawyer present when I paid over the money, The land was to be shared 60% to me, 40% to Saman, I paid a total of 6.7 million for the land, tax and fees, the land value is 4 million, I signed the deeds with Saman believing I was signing as the major share holder, and handed all the money to the seller as I was told the money would be “sorted out” later, I also paid 775,000 Rs in “lawyers fees” as the lawyer would do all relevant paperwork, I then left with Saman, I later discovered that I was tricked into signing the deeds as a witness, and that Saman’s wife was the official owner, the original owner claims he received 5.5 million and the other money has vanished,
6.7 MILLION This is 6.7 million rupees, luckily I had the bank statements and this photograph to confirm my account of events, Although I was buying all the land I was giving 40% to Saman for his help and continued help as I got older, the sums go thus, the land was Rs 4,000,000. My tax due at 100% on the 60% that was mine = Rs 2,400,000, Saman’s stamp duty at 4% on his 40% = Rs 64,640, the balance of Rs 236,000 was legal fees, I also paid the lawyer additional fees, Not all lawyers can be trusted, this one was clearly in on the “con” |  |
At this time I did not know many people in Sri Lanka and fell under the control of the family, as I was living in their home it was difficult to seek alternative advice as all my actions were watched, (I discovered later that Saman was opening my mail and knew exactly how much money I had) On occasions when I did question events or the price of materials, Saman would become quite indignant saying “why you not trust me? I am your friend, you help us after tsunami, now we help you” or similar, (see tsunami story below)
Again with Saman’s assistance I had a house built, (I was overcharged on all items and labour) the idea being for me to live downstairs with 2 guest rooms above in order to provide further income, Whilst the house was being built I became aware that all was not how it seemed, indeed Saman’s wife was paying particular attention to proceedings and was once overheard saying “her house” I was still living at Saman’s house but was getting to know other people and meeting fellow Europeans, Saman did not appear to like this stating that he was my friend and would take care of me, Whilst I was at Saman’s house property of mine went missing, this included 2 mobile phones, a watch of sentimental value and money, the blame for this was placed on the wife’s younger brother who would go in my room to use my laptop, (I also had other items stolen during this time) I was told that he admitted taking the phones and money but he denied that he took the watch.
Nice but Nasty Eranga is the son of Lalith Lakmal, Eranga’s sister is Chathurika Lakmali wife of Saman, Eranga has two older brothers and they seem to be decent Sri Lankan citizens, When I first met Eranga he was about 12 years old, both my x wife and I thought he was nice, we always made an effort to send postcards and little presents to him when on holiday in different countries, I made up a lot a sticky labels with his name and address on and gave them to people where I worked, they in turn passed them on to others who were going abroad and so Eranga received many cards from all over the world, we also made a point of always bringing a present for Eranga when we visited Sri Lanka. He repaid me by stealing personal items and money from the room I was using in Saman’s house, |
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Also during this period I purchased a Three wheeler vehicle this was to ensure that I had transport when I needed to go any distance, I admit that I gifted this to Saman, I purchased a Scooty motor scooter for myself but in order to get insurance etc it was purchased in Saman’s name, at no point have I said the scooter was a gift to Saman, also I “loaned” Saman 1.6 million rupees, I was suspicious of his need for this but he arrived with a jeep type vehicle and said we were purchasing it, (I later found out he had gambled and lost the money and the jeep was never his) Living in his house and his relationship with my stepdaughter made it very difficult to refuse the “loans” A short while before the loans were made my stepdaughter and her children again came to Sri Lanka, Saman was with her most of the time and took her to Yala where he had arranged for the two of them to get married, My stepdaughter was very embarrassed by the arrangements that had been made, they then stayed at another hotel near to where I was and Saman’s promise that he was paying the bill was again untrue and in order that my stepdaughter could leave to return to UK I had to pay the bill of Rs200,000
Tuk Tuk The tuk tuk or three wheeler as they are known in Sri Lanka, this one cost me Rs 360.000, I reasoned it was money well invested as some days we were spending over Rs1000 a day in hire fees, Saman’s old tuk tuk had cost a lot in repairs and was still no good, when I bought this I was unaware that Saman had cheated me out of everything, but he knew. |  |
 | Scooty I needed a bit of independence and bought this Scooty, again it was bought in Saman’s name in order to obtain the tax and insurance easily, whilst we were at the negotiating stage and trying to get things sorted out with the help of the CID, Saman was saying the Scooty was his as it was in his name, the CID could see how greedy he was and they told him to forget about the Scooty until such a time as the ownership was established in court |
Jeep I was told that I was the owner of this "jeep" however this was also untrue, Saman asked me for quite a large sum of money and gave a convincing reason, and the next day he also asked for a large sum, I was concerned by this and said that if he was in trouble to tell me, I said he could still have the money, (at this time I believed that there was something serious between my step daughter and Saman and did not want to “upset things”) a few days later more money was asked for and the jeep turned up with the story of how he had been negotiating for it, the jeep was not in our possession for long and I was told that it was being used to take people on tours and earn some money, but the truth was that Saman had lost the money playing cards, I have heard about the man who won, and Saman could never have won, to convince me that the money I was paying out was for the jeep the “winner” loaned Saman the jeep, All the Sri’s are in it together, in another card game involving Saman a player was stabbed and died over Rs 300 (£1.50) |
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I was warned about trusting locals, I believed that Saman and his family were different and genuinely concerned for my well being, of course they were going to help me, HOW WRONG I WAS
Eventually the downstairs of the house was finished and I purchased furniture and electrical items for the entire house, i.e. 3 TVs, being 1 for me and 1 for each guest room, some of this was and is stored at the wife’s parents home a kilometre away, I moved in during October 2008 and though reasonably happy felt quite lonely as the house was isolated and I had no company,
I had met the lady I married at a friends party some time earlier and married her on Feb 21st 2009, I did not tell Saman about getting married until a week before, he was not happy and said I should abandon the lady saying he knew her family and she was married many times before, he also said he would find me a wife, The wedding went ahead at Gordon's guest house/wedding hall and my wife and I returned to my house, it was here that Saman and his wife came and showed the deeds proving the land (and house) was theirs, Naturally very upset my wife would not stay at “my” house and we returned to the guest house, the following day I returned to “my” house with Gordon and 3 of my wife’s friends to collect belongings that had been left behind in our haste to leave, Saman arrived along with his father in law and others, the father in law assaulted Gordon, and Saman who claimed to have a pistol ordered everyone but me to leave, I admit to being very frightened by the violence and gun threat, the reasons for the violence and the father in laws involvement is now obvious as all there plans to cheat me were in disarray, I did also leave later that day, I returned a few times to remove clothing etc and stayed on a few nights but I was very nervous of being there alone and eventually left, as it turns out for good, (Saman and his family now occupy the house) I had locked all the rooms in the house but Saman had a key to the front door so could access all rooms except my bedroom as I had all the keys, there was an expensive home cinema system in the bedroom that belonged to a Swiss man (who is soon to be another of Saman’s victims,)
I went by mini bus to a party with my wife and 6 friends, someone must have seen me there and told Saman as he, his wife’s family and others turned up and surrounded the house, they were demanding that I gave them the bedroom door key, most of the other guests managed to leave, the police were called but arrived 1 ½ hours after the incident was over, We waited until we thought it was save to leave but the mini bus was halted by Saman who appeared to have a gun, luckily the parties host had provided us with an escort of 7 men and Saman was pushed to the ground, our exit north was blocked by other 3 wheelers and the drivers also appeared armed, the Sri Lankan mini bus driver was very frightened so we went south and were later “saved” by a monk who took us to our homes in a different mini bus, there have been entries (complaints) made at the local police station regarding the incident but nothing was ever done, Saman brags these police officers are his friends and that certainly does seem to be the case,
I have complained about Saman’s actions and the theft of my property, the CID are investigating and Saman is currently on bail awaiting a High Court trial, he has been charged with “fraud” however despite the assurances of the CID, police and lawyers that I can recover my furniture, electrical and personal items I have been unable to,
Added on 18th Feb 2010.
I have been told on Feb 14th 2010 by a very reliable person that Saman has had a visit from the CID and they told him he has nothing to fear from the imminent criminal court case (March 15th 2010) as the deeds are in his wife’s name and therefore he should show up at court. I am hoping this is just a ruse by the CID to ensure he does show up. It seems strange that they would let things get to this stage and then hand Saman a “get out of jail FREE card” I have been trying to speak to the CID Inspector but he seems to be in meetings or unavailable, this could be true as there are still “goings on” following the recent Presidential elections, if however the CID do intend to help Saman then I think it will be a case of collusion and I will need to pursue that line, my lawyer however seems totally unperturbed by this alleged CID / Saman meeting saying if Saman does not show up in court then he does not get to state his defence,
Saman of course is now all “cock-a-hoop” and bragging that he will walk free from court, I just pray that he’s wrong,
It has turned out that the March 15th date is only a preliminary hearing in which the CID will push for a high court hearing in order to secure a severe sentence.
Though I have changed my phone number I still check the old number, I have set up ALERT which lists all missed calls including multiple calls from one caller, and strange to say there were 7 missed calls from Saman’s wife’s number on the 13th Feb, one day before I heard the information about the CID.
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Many of the non nationals I know are very supportive in as much as they wish me well but most seem to be very negative or pessimistic regarding the legal system here in Sri Lanka, most have experienced failure with seeking justice and some still have legal cases going on and their attitude towards me and my case is that not only will I be lucky to achieve even a partial win but I will be lucky if anything is resolved in the next 10 years, this of course fills me with despondency, I just hope they are wrong in my case but their attitude is a true refection of how difficult non nationals find it to get any satisfactory help from the Sri Lankan legal system. Howard’s problem was in 2006 and apparently someone (not Howard) got seriously hurt and another person was charged with attempted murder and to date this is still unresolved, another non national was telling me of a rape which happened in 2005 that has still not been dealt with by the courts, I have been told that the waiting list for cases to get to court is over 12 years but as I have managed to progress from making the complaint to having a court date for both cases in less than 9 months I find it hard to believe.
Added on 25th Feb.2010
I spoke with the CID who neither confirmed or denied talking to Saman, they did however say that “Saman was in serious trouble”. I believed all along that High Court cases were serious but listening to European friends can be very disheartening as most of them are very cynical of the Sri Lankan legal system, so I looked up various internet pages on the Sri Lankan legal system and indeed the High Court is serious and sentences meted out are likely to be severe, earlier the CID had said to me that the case was going to the High Court as the Magistrates Court could not had out the appropriate sentence, I discovered that the maximum fine the magistrates can impose is Rs 1.500.00 which is equal to about £7.50 but this seems to be nonsense balanced against the maximum jail sentence of 2 years simple or rigorous imprisonment, however the amount Rs 1,500 is correct,
Added on 24th March. 2010
The hearing on March 15th was when the CID officially ended their investigation and handed the papers over to the court, there will now be another hearing on 19th April 2010, My lawyer is suspicious that Saman will appeal to have the case tried at magistrates court rather than the high court, this will delay the start of the actual trial and then delaying tactics will commence.
Added on 24th March, 2010
Sad to say but the people who were warning me that things could go on for years seem to be right and my faith in the Sri Lankan legal system has been shattered.
I never needed to attend the court today but decided to as a “dry run” and see how the courts worked, I was told that Saman and his wife were to attended court with their lawyer to “answer the plaint” or “file their answer”. When their names were called they stood together near the front of the court whilst their lawyer spoke, everything was over in less than 2 minutes and I later spoke to my lawyer to ask what had gone on, I was told that Saman has engaged a “Colombo Lawyer“ (I can not write here all that is said about Colombo lawyers, only that they are reputed to be expensive) and that Saman’s lawyer had asked for time to “answer the plaint” this request was granted by the judge, there is now a 6 month delay before the plaint is answered, then there will be a 6 month wait for the next hearing,
no doubt the delaying game I was warned about is just starting,
The “delaying game” is a well thought out way to use the legal system to prolong cases for as long as possible, the object is to wear out the complainant, or cause financial problems that force the complainant to throw in the towel, as many victims are elderly the delaying game could go on till they die, and must have been used successfully many times.
I would like to be happy with the thought that the legal proceedings are costing Saman a lot of money but I cant help feeling that it is either my money he is spending (if he has any left) or money from another sucker, there is also the possibility that he has made a deal with the lawyer to “share the spoils” if they win, which they obviously believe they will.
I am hoping that Saman’s bragging is tenuous to say the least, I have also E mailed the President, Mr Mahinda Rajapaksa highlighting the crimes by beach boys against visitors, I am very sceptical about whether any action will be taken if indeed any interest will be shown as when I visited the British High Commission on the 24th of Feb I was told that they knew of numerous other cases like mine where land and houses have been stolen.
This is only a summary of events but mentions most major issues,
Tsunami.
I left Sri Lanka on the 7th of Dec 2004, less than 3 weeks before the tsunami, my now ex wife and I were very concerned about the people we had recently left, many fruitless calls were made to various establishments around the area where my “friends” were living, we really were very worried and anxious, then a (late) Christmas card arrived from my “friend” I found it very upsetting as I never knew whether he was alive, injured or dead, or how his family had fared. It was sometime later that a call was received from the “friend” explaining that the family was OK but they needed help, I did manage to send some money to them. Due to tsunami damage we were not able to stay at our favourite resort during June 2005 but were able to stay about 10km away and visit our friends, of course everyone was telling their tsunami stories, some true and some pure fabrication. Amongst the true stories we were very sorry to find out that some of the resort staff had lost their life’s that fateful day, we visited some of the camps that were everywhere in the costal regions but it was impossible to do much, the few luxuries and the sweets we bought with us were soon gone. My friend showed us his house that had been rebuilt with the help of donated materials and the labours of an Australian Aborigine aid volunteer, we returned to the UK a little while later having given the “friend” some more money to help towards his new roof, to prove what nice people the family were they used some of the money to make up over 100 food packets that were taken to one of the camps, Prior to the tsunami I had intended to holiday in Sri Lanka whenever I could so I had left items of fishing tackle and clothing at the Lakmal house for my use on later visits, The Lakmal family were honest enough to admit that their house had not suffered tsunami damage and said that they ran further inland for fear of another big wave, It was whilst they were away from the house that someone went in and stole my belongings, in 2005 I was happy to believe that was true but now I have big doubts as by coincidence all the new fishing tackle that I bought to Sri Lanka in 2007 was stolen during a “break in” at my friends restored home. Strange that!!
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