Abortion, ends with three deaths

Ananda Jayasena Senior Supdt. of Police (Retd.)

In Wennappuwa lived a rich person named Pious Fernando, who owned coconut estates and fibre mills.

At 26, he married one Josephine from Negombo and at the child birth she died leaving a girl named Carmel.

Pious, who was now fond of the child, did not remarry and brought up Carmel up in the lap of luxury.

When she was six, she was admitted to the Negombo convent and chauffeured by car up and down daily.

Rich renter

When Carmel was ten, she was admitted to a leading Catholic Convent in Colombo and was taken home for weekends by the father or his driver.

The driver was Patrick he was 68 years of age and started to work for Pious two years before Carmel was born.

Patrick was from Payagala and had worked for one Francis Silva, a rich renter and an owner of a licensed distillery. Francis got involved in a murder because of his master and later he got acquitted as Francis spent a lot of money for this case.

Francis had an incorrigible son named Camilus, 16 years of age, and to reform him he was bordered at an English School Hostel in Jaffna. He could not stay there and left the hostel and lived as a boarder in the house of Roger Casinader, a class mate of his, at Hospital Road, Jaffna.

Roger Casinader was a brilliant student. He gained entrance to the Colombo Medical College as the first in the Island and got accommodation at ‘Blom-fontein, the medical college boys’ hostel. He was first in the class at Medical College till his 4th year and became a pethodine addict and used to get pethodine self injected.

Patrick, the driver was liked both by Pious as well as Francis but because of the murder stink he preferred to work at Wennappuwa, at least till the episode was forgotten.

Patrick’s youngest daughter got married and Pious was the attesting witness. Carmel, now 16 years, too attended the wedding at Payagala. Francis too attended the wedding with his son, Camilus, who was 20 years of age then. Both parties sat at a table specially laid for them. All four were chatting to each other and left the wedding at about 4 p.m.

After about three years, when Patrick was driving carmel home from the convent, on a weekend evening, they, saw Camilus’ sports car singer talbot halted by the wayside due to a mechanical defect close to the Navaloka at Peliyagoda in Negombo Road.

Permission

Patrick went in search of a mechanic leaving Carmel who was now chatting with Camilus. After about an hour the car was repaired by the mechanic and parties left on their separate ways.

At the end of the year Carmel left convent and went back home. She told her father that she could help the orphans at the Negombo Convent two days a week and sought her father’s permission to undertake it. Pious granted her permission.

Every Tuesday and Thursday Patrick dropped Carmel at the Convent gate and picked her up around 2 p.m. at the entrance to the convent.

As time went by, one day Patrick came and parked his car a little earlier than usual and was awaiting the arrival of Carmel. To his surprise he saw Carmel being dropped at the convent gate by Camilus in his sports car. Both of them saw Patrick, with the car parked at the convent gate.

On the return journey Carmel cried throughout and begged Patrick not to tell this story to her father.

On the following day Carmel went to Lansigama, Marawila, to the house of one Bianca who was her erstwhile friend and a boarding mate at the Convent. She came out after about two hours and appeared to have cried a lot as her eyes were swollen. Carmel in utter desperation told Patrick that she is now pregnant and her friend Bianca refused to accompany her to a doctor.

Promise

On following day Camilus came and met Patrick. He told Patrick that Carmel is two months pregnant and wanted him to help him to perform an abortion and he will marry carmel within two weeks time.

Patrick did not answer but his eyes were full of tears. He was completely lost.

On a Tuesday morning, Patrick brought Carmel to Deal Place “A” Kollupitiya to a medical clinic. Camilus was there. This clinic was run by a Doctor called Roger Casinader. He was present. The abortion was done and the patient was brought out after about four hours. She was hale and hearty. Dr. Casinader prescribed a drug to be obtained from a particular Pharmacy in Union Place. Camilus gave money for the drug and Patrick left with Carmel, bought the drug from Union Place and came home around 2 p.m.

Transferred

In the night around 8.30 p.m. Carmel had a relapse and was admitted to the Base Hospital Marawila. The Doctor who examined her transferred the patient in an ambulance to De Soysa Maternity Home, Borella, as her condition was bad.

Following morning Carmel died without gaining consciousness and the A.J.M.O. who held the autopsy stated that this death was caused as a result of a criminal abortion and the coroner gave a verdict of ‘Homicide’.

In the villages, a rich man’s downfall is always applauded by the common people and petitions began to flow to Police Headquarters, which finally ended up in the desk of I.P A.M. Seneviratne, OIC Unit of the CID and I was given the inquiry along with PC 4776 Michael Fernando, a native of Marawila.

We came to Wennappuwa. Patrick had left to Payagala. We searched his suitcase and the prescription written by Dr. Casinader 4 days prior and the pharmacy bill for Rs.28/- for a drug found in the suitcase. These two receipts were taken by us and came to Union Place Pharmacy. The salesman admitted that the drug written on the prescription was sold to an elderly man who brought a prescription from Dr. Casinader who is a regular customer who sends prescription often.

We went to Deal Place, the dispensary was open. There were three women patients. They were uneasy on seeing both of us. When I showed the prescription the Doctor admitted that he gave this to his friend Camilus Silva of Payagala who was known to him for a long time from his school says.

P.C. Fernando and I went to No.22, St. Vincent’s Road, Payagala. Francis Silva was present. We introduced ourselves and requested him to direct Camilus to Unit I of the CID at fourth floor on coming Saturday at 9 a.m.

We made discreet inquiries about the clinic and learnt that only female grown ups come to this clinic for treatment.

We went to the Medical College and found out Casinader was a bright student but crashed at the 4th year examination as he was a pethodine addict and left the medical college and a Gynaecologist had given him to work at his clinic through sheer sympathy and he helped the Doctor in the clinic for about four years and left him. No one knew where he had gone or his present whereabouts.

We came to Deal Place and found the clinic closed. All items which were there have been taken away and the staff had vanished.

Meanwhile, Camilus too did not come to the CID Office as requested by us and we learnt that he had left the Island.

Topic of discussion

I came to the house of Patrick at Payagala. There was a funeral at his house. I entered the house as a mourner and learnt that Patrick had committed suicide by hanging. A letter had been written by him saying that he cannot face his Masters Pious and Francis and hope they will pardon him in death.

This was the topic of discussion at the funeral house.

P.C. Fernando and I came to the Immigration office and checked the list of departures. On 16.6.62 two passengers, namely Rogger Casinader and Camilus Silva had left our shores by ‘S.S. ORSOVA’ to England.

A message was given to INTERPOL Paris and they informed us that both of them had not arrived in England but had got off the ship elsewhere as London was the last port of call.