Habaraduwa hotel worker arrested

by Jayampathy Jayasinghe

Habaraduwa police have arrested a hotel steward for allegedly raping a twenty eight-year-old Swedish woman tourist on Friday night following a complaint made by the woman at the Habaraduwa police station. The victim was produced before the Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) at the Karapitiya Teaching hospital for examination and report. The suspect will be produced in court, the Police Media spokesman, (SP) Ajit Rohana told the Sunday Observer.

According to police the suspect, an employee of a hotel had befriended the Swedish woman who was staying at a hotel closeby. Both had gone for a dance at a disco that night in the neighbourhood and thereafter had pleaded with the woman to allow him to sleep in her room as it was late in the night.

The woman however had allowed him into the room as there was another foreign woman tourist occupying the room. After they retired, the man had raped the woman, the police said. Further inquiries are being conducted by the Habaraduwa police.