Sri Lanka News Updates with Discussions

Breast groper avoids deportation
Thursday Sep 13 12:39 AEST
A Sri Lankan man has narrowly avoided being deported after his conviction for groping women on public buses.

Mohammed Ilham Fareed, 30, was sentenced to 10 months jail in the Brisbane District Court after pleading guilty to three counts of sexual assault.

He will serve just two months of the sentence, and will be allowed to remain in Australia after his release.

Under current federal legislation any jail sentence of 12 months or more results in failure of the 'character test' and automatic deportation.




The court was told the offences took place over a six-week period between August and October 2006 on a Brisbane City Council bus service that ran between the city centre and Carindale, in Brisbane's east.

One three occasions Fareed, who moved to Australia from Sri Lanka in 2005, reached between the seat and the side of the bus to grab the breast of a woman sitting in front of him.

On the first occasion the 19-year-old victim felt something on her chest and thought it was a spider until she looked down to see a hand disappearing between the gap.

The 27-year-old second victim, who woke up to find him groping her, confronted Fareed and reported him to the bus driver, but he disembarked before police could arrive.

The third woman, 35, also confronted him but he again got off the bus and managed to evade capture.

Police arrested him in November after the 35-year-old victim saw him get back on the same bus.

The court was told Fareed, who committed the offences on his way to work, cried when confronted and begged the bus driver not to report him.

Judge Helen O'Sullivan was appalled at Fareed's behaviour, describing it as 'foolish' and 'incredibly insulting' to his wife.

'Women are entitled to travel on buses without being subjected to this sort of unacceptable conduct,' Judge O'Sullivan said.

'You need to be stopped doing this Mr Fareed.

'It's not acceptable in any country, and it's certainly not acceptable in Australia.'

©AAP 2007

Sri Lankan and Indian officials will be hugely embarrassed should it turn out that KP is still a free man

conviction for groping women on public buses.

This could one of the Forum members...lol...

Mohammed Ilham Fareed, 30, was sentenced to 10 months jail in the Brisbane District Court after pleading guilty to three counts of sexual assault.

Tamil Nationalist Movement (TNM) leader P Nedumaran was arrested alongwith 500 volunteers in Nagapattinam town in Tamil Nadu state today when they tried to proceed to Sri Lanka in boats with medicines and essential commodities to 'help the suffering Tamils' in the island nation.

THE GOVERNMENT WILL IMPLEMENT a crash programme to expedite the essential food transport to the Jaffna Peninsula and keep the prices of essential commodities stable, said Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process (SCOPP) in a release yesterday.

This is hugely embarrasing for the GOSL.

Australia to accept the 72 refugees