Wednesday, January 12, 2005
Sri Lanka investigates alleged case of tsunami child sale
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) - Sri Lankan authorities are investigating an alleged attempt to sell two children orphaned by last month's tsunami, a police officer said Wednesday.
A 60-year-old man tried to sell the children, aged 12 and 13, in Balapitiya, near the hard-hit southern city of Galle, said police officer W.D.T. Wijesena. Police, however, were tipped off of the sale and arrested the man on Tuesday, he said. The suspect was released on bail, Wijesena said. He didn't give details about the suspect or the attempted sale, and said the authorities were still investigating the case. The fate of the children was not immediately clear. The children are among scores who have lost their parents in the Dec. 26 tsunami that killed about 31,000 people in this island country. The United Nations and international aid agencies have expressed concerned that child traffickers could take advantage of the situation, and try to sell orphans into forced labor or the sex trade. Sri Lanka, like neighboring India, has strict rules on adoption, and has said it will not change those regulations despite the tsunami.-AP
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