Married couple charged after claiming to be snatch theft victims to evade Customs tax in Sri Lanka
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On March 6, Hewa Sahabanduge Waruna Kanishka, 30, and his wife, Jayasekara Gamlath Ralalage Yehelichathurika, 29, were charged in the State Courts.
ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
SINGAPORE – A foreign national reportedly came up with a plan to evade overseas Customs tax in Sri Lanka for gold bought in Singapore by falsely claiming to have been a victim of a snatch theft.
His wife is said to have participated in the ruse by helping to conceal the allegedly stolen items in her backpack.
On March 6, Hewa Sahabanduge Waruna Kanishka, 30, and his wife, Jayasekara Gamlath Ralalage Yehelichathurika, 29, were charged in the State Courts over their suspected involvement in obstruction of justice with common intention.
Hewa, a Japanese national, also faces an additional charge over allegedly providing false information to the police.
Speaking in Sinhala in court, the couple asked to be allowed to contact the High Commission of Sri Lanka in Singapore for legal assistance.
Court documents show that Hewa had made a police report on March 4, claiming that he had been a victim of snatch theft in Queen Street in the Bugis vicinity.
Hewa said that an unknown man had snatched his black sling bag that contained gold jewellery, a mobile phone and $400 in cash. Hewa reported losing a total of $21,668.
In a March 5 statement, the police said they deployed significant resources to investigate the supposed snatch theft due to the seriousness of the report.
But follow-up investigations made by officers found discrepancies in Hewa’s account. Hewa then admitted he had lodged a false report to evade overseas Customs tax.
Jayasekara is said to have helped conceal the gold jewellery in a bottle hidden in her haversack.
The Straits Times understands that Hewa and his wife, a Sri Lankan national, had purchased more than $20,000 worth of gold in Singapore and were planning to travel back to Sri Lanka.
The pair hatched the plan to report the gold as being stolen, as they did not want to pay the taxes to Sri Lankan authorities on the gold they had purchased in Singapore.
The case has been fixed for a pre-trial conference on March 19.
Those found guilty of obstruction of justice can be jailed for up to seven years, fined, or both. Those convicted of providing false information to a public servant can be jailed for up to two years, fined, or both.
