Brawl Involving Mervin’s Son at Night Club

Story of British couple assaulting Mervin's son .... now
 becomes a boomerang   Malaka in custody now!

Some days back last 31st night Minister Mervin Silva's son Malaka Silva who got a good battering from a British couple at a night club known as Rythmn and Blues down Duplication Road, Colombo had admitted himself to a hospital while a friend of his lodged a complaint at the police station against the British couple.

According to that statement, on investigations the police were able to get at the Britisher and his girlfriend and on inquiry it was revealed that it was the two of them who really had been assaulted. Though there was a minor injury near Malaka's nose, it was noticed that the couple had sustained more injuries. Therefore suspicions were aroused in the police officers' minds about the statement made by the complainant party.

Subsequently when examining the CCTV footage in the night club it was possible to see that this couple were being assaulted on the floor by Malaka Silva and 5 of his attaches. This British couple had come to Sri Lanka to celebrate a birthday and while commemorating the birthday that night this incident had taken place during that time when an argument has gone too far.

The police who took Malaka Silva into custody produced him in courts and Magistrate Mr. Chandima Liyanage ordered that he be remanded until the 4th.

The Minister had wanted to show that the condition of Malaka Silva is serious from the assault and what he had said was that he would be taking his son who had sustained injuries to Singapore as a result of the assault of a foreigner and if it is not possible to cure him, he is even prepared to take him to a florist.

Three individuals alleged to be body guards of Malaka Silva who had got involved in assaulting the British national and his girl friend mercilessly at the Rythmn and Blues night club in Bambalapitiya have vanished by now and the Colombo CID have launched a wide-scale search to arrest them.

Malaka has been imprisoned after the Magistrate had gone and examined him at the hospital. By now the suspect Malaka Silva is under treatment as a prisoner at the same prison hospital under the protection of the prison authorities.

It has been revealed at investigations that Malaka Silva and his accomplices had come to the said night club on the 1st around 1 in the morning highly intoxicated. The birthday of the Britisher who was subjected to assault had fallen on that day and he had come there and happened to enjoy himself with his girl friend, dancing. On that occasion Malaka Silva had involved himself in dancing with the Britisher's girl friend. At that point an exchange of words had taken place between Malaka Silva and the girl concerned. It is understood that later Malaka Silva had hit her. At that moment when the Britisher had tried to rescue his lover, the suspect Malaka Silva's bodyguards had assaulted his lover mercilessly.

The staff of the night club had intervened and rescued both the Britisher and his lover and admitted them to hospital.

The two foreigners had not wanted to take this issue as far as the police. They had later arrived at the police and had said that no further inquiry on this issue was necessary and had left thereby. However, police inquiries had been conducted on the former complaint of Malaka's friend and it was found to be defective.

Last evening the British High Commission had issued a statement that they look down upon this incident and that they would inquire into this matter.

All involved in the incident of assault have been noted in the CCTV cameras of the nightclub and the rest of the suspects are expected to be taken into custody.

A newspaper cartoon in association with the incident, from BELOW