posted December 15, 2004 01:12 AM            

31st January 2001

Hon. Sir K C Kamalasabayson, PC

Attorney General

The Attorney Generals Department

Colombo 12

SRI LANKA

Dear Honourable Sir,

RE. CHRISTINA NELUM SAMARAKKODY - MISSING SINCE 31ST MAY 2000
I am writing this letter to you, in anticipation that you will be able to help me in my relentless pursuit to find my nineteen year old daughter, Christina Samarakkody, who has been missing since 31st May 2000.

My daughter, Christina Samarakkody has been living with my ex-wife in Gampaha since our separation in October 1992. Until that time my wife and I were living with our children in London in the UK. We have two daughters Christina (19 yrs), Lavinia (9 yrs) and a son Lalyn (16 yrs).

Christina was educated at Belvoir International School in Colombo from October 1992 to March 2000. She was due to sit for her London Advanced Level exams starting on the 7tth June 2000. In April 2000 I visited Sri Lanka, this was the last time I saw my daughter Christina. My three children came and spent a week with me at my sister’s house. Christina had applied and been selected by the International Hotel School in Mount Lavinia to study for a five part Hotel Management Diploma Course. As Christina had expressed great enthusiasm in undertaking this Diploma, we arranged to meet the Principal of the Hotel School. After our meeting Christina was officially enrolled on the course which was due to commence on 8th May 2000. The Principal agreed to Christina taking time off to sit for her A’ Levels starting on 7th June for one week.

Christina started the Diploma course on 8th May 2000. This meant that she was travelling daily by bus from Gampaha to Mount Lavinia which is quite a long distance. The structure of the course meant that some days Christina would have to stay late at the Hotel School. As I did not want her to start her journey back from Mount Lavinia late at night I arranged for her to stay with my sister in Mount Lavinia on those days. The day before she disappeared, Christina had stayed at my sisters. On 31st May 2000, Christina left the house at around 6.40 am and arrived at the School at 7.15 am. That afternoon she left School at 5.15 pm and the Principal has since confirmed this fact. Christina walked up to Mount Lavinia junction with a classmate whom she told that her younger sister was waiting for her at home. Just after 5.30 pm she boarded a bus bound to Colombo Fort. From Colombo Fort, she was to get another bus to Gampaha town. From there she would then have to get another bus to Indigolla junction, where she would walk the rest of the way home which would take approximately 6 or 7 minutes. Christina never arrived home. My ex-wife phoned my sister to check that Christina was due to return home that evening. My sister confirmed that she was due back home that evening in Gampaha. The next morning my wife went to Gampaha Police Station to report Christina missing. The Police did make an entry, however, this was not as my wife had requested (Ref. Entry no. CIB/273/09 Date 01.06.2000).

On 1st of June 2000 my brother-in-law Xxxxxxxxxx Xxxxxxxxxxx, phoned me at work at around 10.00 am (UK time). He explained that Christina had disappeared. I immediately contacted a friend in the airline business who managed to get me on the next available flight the next day. I left the UK on the evening of 2nd June and I arrived in Sri Lanka at about midday on 3rd June 2000. From the airport I travelled straight to Gampaha Police Station, where I was made to wait until around 10.00 pm. I was then told that it was too late and to come back tomorrow. I explained that I wanted to make an entry regarding my daughters disappearance. The Police refused to do this and told me that it was not necessary.

I use to speak to Christina almost every Saturday, I last spoke to her on 13th May 2000 which was her birthday. She told me that she was enjoying her Diploma course and also revising hard for her forthcoming A’ Level’s. She also asked me to send her some files and dividers for her school work. The night before my daughter disappeared, my sister told me that she had stayed up doing her homework until 1.00 am in the morning. I believe that this is not the action of someone who is about to runaway. Christina and I have a very close father/daughter relationship. She is a happy bubbly teenager and I know that if there were any problems she would have talked them through with me. I was in Sri Lanka with my children just 6 weeks before she disappeared. She seemed very happy with life. I see no reason for her to disappear without any explanation. She cared deeply for her younger brother and sister and I can not believe she would just leave them without any contact for over eight months.

Between 3rd June to the 14th June 2000 I travelled daily to Gampaha Police station. They would keep me till around 10.30 pm each day and then say that it was too late and to come back the next day. There seemed to be a lot of Police Inspectors available at the Police station although they did not take any action to help me. In actual fact they had laughed at me when I tried to stress that Christina had not gone of her own accord and how I was sure that she had been taken by force. They continued to laugh and tell me that my daughter had probably run off with her boyfriend. Eventually, I managed to get a friend who had some influence within the Police force to accompany me to the Police Station in Gampaha. Only then did they agree to make an entry in the police log. (Ref. Entry No. to follow Date 14/06/2000). The wording of the entry was dictated by an inspector of police and not as I had requested.

As Christina had left my sister’s house in Mount Lavinia on the morning of 31st May 2000, I requested that my sister make an entry at the Mount Lavinia Police Station (Ref No. CIB/IV/18/53 Date 04/06/00).

On 9th June 2000, I tried to hand over a written complaint to the Gampaha Police and one of the police inspectors scribbled on it and handed it back to me, refusing to accept it (copy attached).

Since Christina’s disappearance, I have in fact discovered that she did have a boyfriend of the same age called Anushka Dharmasiri, from Imbulgoda. My ex-wife has told me that this boyfriend had been visiting Christina at the house for about six months. I have found out that this boyfriend strongly disapproved of Christina undertaking the Diploma course and that the relationship had subsequently finished before Christina embarked on her course. On 31st May 2000, this boy had allegedly gone to my ex-wife’s house in Gampaha and told her that Christina had finished the relationship with him and that she now has a new boyfriend. This boy then warned my ex-wife that if anything happens to Christina he is not responsible for his actions. The Police at Gampaha had refused to record this in my ex-wife’s entry on 1st June 2000. Since 31st May 2000, this boy has been missing. I have been to meet with this boy’s father and according to him he does not know the whereabouts of his son. He said that he is also worried about his son’s welfare.

During my own investigations I have found out that two of the ex-boyfriend’s (Anushka Dharimasiri) close friends have contacts within the Gampaha Police. The friends are Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxxx (who owns a bookshop in Yakkala junction called Xxxxxxx) and Xxxxx Xxxxxxx/Xxxxxxx. I went and met Xxxxxx at his house on 6th June 200 and asked him where he was on the evening of the 31st May. He said he could not remember. His mother said she recalled that he took their vehicle out and did not return until late. Xxxxxx’s mothers brother is an inspector of police at Gampaha Police Station. On 6th June 2000, Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxxx told the Police that Christina is with Anushka and that Anushka phoned him and said this. I believe that Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxxx knows the whereabouts of Anushka. Otherwise why did he go to the Police at Gampaha with this story. The Police never investigated this any further. I have also found out that Anushka’s father has friends and contacts in the Army and within the police department at Gampaha.

During my visit to Sri Lanka, I went to meet with Christina’s Principal. He was very distressed about Christina’s disappearance. He stated that Christina seemed to be enjoying the course and that although she had not been with them for long, she had proved to be an excellent student. He informed me that he had already called in her fellow classmates to try to find out if they had any information. Nobody new anything, although they had all expressed disbelief that she had runaway. Christina had become quite friendly with one boy in her class, Xxxxx Xxxxxxxxx. I have since been to see Xxxxxx who strongly feels that Christina had not planned to runaway. In fact, Xxxxxx has been so worried that he also made an entry at the Mount Lavinia Police station on 7th June 2000.

Between 3rd June to 14th June, I arranged for a news article on Christina’s disappearance to appear in the Island Newspaper in English and Singhalese. I also had posters printed about Christina’s disappearance containing a photo of her. My family and I distributed hundreds of these posters on bill boards around the Gampaha/ Ragama/Imbulgoda/Weliveriya areas.

My brother-in law, Xxxxxxxxxx Xxxxxxxxxxx and my sister Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxxxxxx have a son and a daughter. Their daughter Xxxxxx is the same age as my daughter. During the period between 3rd June to the 18th June 2000, my sister and brother-in-law received threatening phone calls at their house and also at the bank where both my brother-in-law and Xxxxxx work. The caller said that because my brother-in-law was assisting me in the search for my daughter, he must stop or his daughter will be taken away. We have no idea who was behind these threatening phone calls. Because of this I have told my brother-in-law and my sister to stop helping me search for Christina. The threatening phone calls have now stopped. We did report the threatening phone calls to the police who did investigate. However, they did not manage to find out who was responsible.

Due to my work commitments, I reluctantly had to return to the UK on 18th June 2000 without any success finding my daughter. Obviously, this was extremely distressing for me. On 8th July I returned to Sri Lanka. I then lodged a complaint with the CID regarding the search for my daughter. They too have since drawn a blank. I feel extremely let down by the Police Force in Sri Lanka. It seems that I have had to do the investigating and then go to them with my findings. They then decide whether or not to check any leads out. They do not appear to be initiating any investigations of their own. Again, I had to return to the UK on the 23rd July without any success.

I next returned to Sri Lanka on 28th November 2000. On this visit I ran five separate advertisements in the ‘Lanka Deepa’ Newspaper at my own expense with no results to date. Within the advertisements I printed a persudo name and telephone number. I received about 6 phone calls warning me to stop printing these advertisements. I have met with Senior DIG Mr Xxxx Xxxxxxxxxxx who was very helpful and listened to me. He has been investigating this case since early December 2000 but to date there are no positive leads. Everywhere I turn I seem to hit a brick wall. My only concern is that my daughter is alive and well.

Recently I was told by the Peliyagoda Police that they have received some new information that my daughter is being held by a Madam who is running a brothel in Dehiwala. I have since arranged for a very close friend from the UK to visit this place in Dehiwala. He met with the Madam three times. Apparently the Madam arranges for these girls, some as young as 16, to be brought to a pre-arranged address and the clients can take their pick. On all three occasions my friend managed to decline the girls. The girls are held elsewhere (where I do not know) and they are brought in a van with curtains and bodyguards (thugs).

On my last visit to Sri Lanka, I even had to go and look at a dead body of a young girl in a mortuary. She had been murdered and dumped on a beach in Matara. In response to one of my advertisements in the paper, a lot of people contacted me to say that the picture of the young girl broadcast on the television resembled Christina’s picture in the paper. Much to my relief it did not turn out to be my daughter but I am sure you can appreciate what an horrific experience this was for me.

I am writing this letter to you as I feel that I am not getting any positive response from the Gampaha Police. I strongly believe that someone somewhere, possible even within the Police Force has information on this case. I feel that they may be suppressing or hindering the investigation for their personnel benefit.

I have complained to the Foreign Office in the UK as my daughter is a British Citizen. Christina holds dual nationality in the UK and Sri Lanka because I held a Sri Lankan passport when she was born. I have been informed by the Foreign Office that they have sent communications to the Gampaha Police in September 2000 and to date the Foreign Office have not even received an acknowledgement. The Foreign Office have stated that they will be making further investigations.

Please find attached information relating to this case –

Police Entries –
1st June 2000 XXXXXXX. Gampaha Police Station Ref No. CIB/273/09 TM42

4th June 2000 XXXXXXX. Mount Lavinia Police Station Ref No. CIB/IV/18/53

9th June 2000 Mr C Samarakkody. Gampaha Police Station. Entry refused.

14th June 2000 Mr C Samarakkody. Gampaha Police Station (Ref No. to follow)

10th July 2000 Mr C Samarakkody. CID Colombo (copy of letter attached).

Fliers –

5th/ /10th June 2000 - Fliers distributed around the Gampaha area.

Newpaper/News Articles –

9th June 2000 - The Island Newspaper. Page 2

10th June 2000 - Divaina Newspaper. Page 11

12th November2000 - Sunday Times Newspaper. Page 7

30th November 2000 - Lanka Deepa Newspaper. Page 6

Newspaper Advertisements –

3rd December 2000 - Sunday Lanka Deepa Newspaper. Page 5

6th December 2000 - Lanka Deepa Newspaper. Page 3

8th December 2000 - Lanka Deepa Newspaper. Page 3

Other letters -

15th August 2000 - Letter sent to Foreign & Commonwealth Office in London and the British Consulate in Sri Lanka

I am bringing this to your kind attention as a last hope and I beg for your assistance in the search for my daughter.

Although, I feel scared for my own safety in Sri Lanka, as I do not know who is behind all these threats, I shall nevertheless, make myself available, in person, as and when required by you Sir, or your department, in the event of your seeing fit to entertain this desperate plea of a distraught father.

Praying for a favourable reply I wish to remain.

Yours humbly,

Chrisantha L Samarakkody

Tel: Mobile: 00 44 7770 950 398