Boat owner, 2 crew members arrested over torture of youth on fishing vessel

Following an expose by Ada Derana, 03 persons have been arrested over the case of ill-treatment a 16-year-old boy on a fishing vessel while at Mirissa Sea have been arrested.

The arrestees are the owner of the fishing vessel and another 02 members of the crew involved in the incident, stated Police Media Division.

Meanwhile, State Minister of Ornamental Fish, Freshwater Fish, and, Shrimp Farming Development, Multi-Day Fishing and Fish Export Kanchana Wijesekera promised that justice would be done for the ill-treated kid by implementing the law against those involved in the incident.

An underprivileged 16-year-old youth, from Mirissa, was reported to have been physically tortured aboard a multi-day fishing vessel for a period of 48 days at sea, at the hands of his fellow crewmen.

The youth in question had joined a fishing crew and ventured out on his first trip to the sea with the hopes of supporting his financially struggling family with four siblings.

However, he has been forced to endure levels of inhuman torture for having accidentally dropped a fish back into the sea. The teen says he had to endure daily physical abuse from the older crewmen of the vessel since the incident.

Shehan’s mother, speaking to media, said her son’s fellow fishermen had not even fed him properly during the two-month period they tortured him. “They had even cut the sides of his mouth after accusing him of eating too much,” she said further.

Seeking justice for what happened to her son, the mother said Shehan has suffered severe injuries to his back and that he needs to have a metal plate surgically implanted on his back.

Subsequently, four police teams had been deployed in search of the suspects responsible for the incident who had fled the area.