Set the reserve on fire for fun and get sued.

Nuwara Eliya Magistrate Ms. Buddhika Harshani Dharmadasa fined a person who pleaded guilty to the charge of setting fire to the Seetha Eliya Reserve for fun and destroying the forest, Rs. 40,000/-, and also ordered him to pay compensation exceeding Rs. 4 lakhs for the damage caused to the forest.

The Magistrate strictly warned the defendant not to cause such damage to forests and informed him that severe penalties would be imposed if he was caught causing such damage to forests again. Due to pleading guilty to the charges, the person thus sentenced was a 48-year-old individual named Mohamed Farook Mohamed, residing on Edirisinghe Mawatha, Nuwara Eliya.

On or around July 21, 2026, charges were brought against the defendant by Mr. A.H.S. Nissanka, the Nuwara Eliya Divisional Forest Officer of the Forest Conservation Department, for entering the Seetha Eliya Reserve in Kandapola, Bomuruella area, which has been designated as a protected area, and setting fire to the reserve, damaging an area of about one hectare. When the case was called, the defendant Mohamed Farook Mohamed appeared in court.

When the charges against the defendant were read out, the defendant informed the court that he pleaded guilty to the relevant charges. At that time, Divisional Forest Officer A.H.S. Nissanka, appearing with Nuwara Eliya Beat Forest Officer A.W.S. Hewamanna, stated that the defendant had illegally entered the Seetha Eliya Reserve, which is designated as a protected area, and set fire to it, and that about one hectare of the forest had caught fire and been destroyed. With the spread of the fire, on the instructions of Nuwara Eliya District Forest Officer Parakrama Wanigasinghe, officers of his department, including Beat Forest Officer A.W.S. Hewamanna, Forest Field Assistants H.M.D.P. Bandara, K.M. Prasanth, Prasanna Amal, D.M.C. Dhanapala, Driver D.K. Nayanajith, and casual laborer Senaka Somaratne, made strenuous efforts to prevent the fire from spreading and arrested the suspect. Divisional Forest Officer Nissanka further stated that after the suspect was arrested and questioned regarding setting fire to the forest, he admitted that he had set fire to the forest for fun. Mr. Nissanka requested that a severe punishment be imposed on the defendant under the Forest Ordinance, to serve as a lesson to others.

After considering the facts, the Magistrate imposed a fine of Rs. 40,000/- for the charges of unauthorized entry into the reserve and setting fire, and ordered compensation of Rs. 403,509.22 for the damage caused to the forest. On behalf of the prosecution, Divisional Forest Officer A.H.S. Nissanka appeared with Nuwara Eliya Beat Forest Officer A.W.S. Hewamanna at that time.