The Colombo High Court has sentenced a three-wheeler driver to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs. 10,000 after finding him guilty of trafficking an Uzbek woman to Sri Lanka under false employment promises and subsequently forcing her into prostitution through intimidation.
The verdict was delivered by High Court Judge Lanka Jayaratne.
The case was instituted by the Attorney General under Section 360(A)(1) of the Penal Code, relating to the procurement of a woman for prostitution. It concerned the trafficking of Uzbek national Oksana Karpova, who was exploited at a hotel in Colombo on January 1, 2021.
According to the case, in late 2020, Oksana received an employment offer through a fellow Uzbek national, identified as 'Jasmine', who was residing in Sri Lanka. She was promised a monthly salary of USD 1,500 or employment as a nanny. Based on these assurances, she travelled to Sri Lanka using an air ticket and visa arranged by Jasmine.
Upon her arrival at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake, Jasmine and her Sri Lankan husband, identified as 'Lawrence', a three-wheeler driver, received her and took her to a residence in the Negombo area. On the same day, she was allegedly sold to a foreign national for sexual exploitation.
She was subsequently confined to an apartment in Wellawatte, where the couple allegedly confiscated her passport, deprived her of access to communication facilities and maintained strict control over her movements.
Unable to endure the situation, Oksana secretly contacted her mother by telephone and informed her of her circumstances. Following a complaint lodged by her mother with the Uzbek Police, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Sri Lanka initiated an investigation, rescued the victim and transferred her to a safe house.
During the trial, the accused pleaded not guilty. However, the prosecution established its case through substantial scientific and documentary evidence, including bank transaction records.
In particular, bank records revealed that a portion of the payment made by a client who had obtained sexual services at a Colombo hotel on December 31, 2020, had been transferred to Lawrence's personal bank account.
Delivering the judgment, the High Court Judge observed that the prosecution had established the charges beyond reasonable doubt and identified the offence as an organised criminal operation.
Accordingly, the court sentenced the accused to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs. 10,000.
