Justice Thushara Rajasinghe has raised his concerns over the number of charges being amended by prosecutors.

Justice Rajasinghe said 80 per cent of prosecutors in his court would  amend information relating to charges multiple times.

An example was highlighted by him yesterday.

A rape and defilement case was stood down earlier yesterday but presented later in the day after the information on the charge sheet was amended by the state prosecution.

The case involves a Nakasi couple charged with representative counts of rape and defilement.

Justice Rajasinghe said to the State that according to the information provided by them, the alleged offences have not even occurred yet.

He said that the state prosecutors had a huge responsibility and his signature on the information sheet had a lot of power.

He said even a single comma in the information charge sheet could change a persons’ life and it could also destroy a person’s life and a family’s life too.

The charges relate to complainants aged 12 and 16 who were daughters of the couple’s maid.

It is alleged that between April 1, 2020, and June 1, 2020, the man raped a child under the age of 13 years old while his wife aided and abetted the man to rape the child.

It is also alleged that the between April 1, 2020, and October 1, 2020, the man raped a child under the age of 16 years old while his wife aided and abetted the man to do so.

The husband and wife pleaded not guilty to the charges when the plea was taken.

The matter has been adjourned for mention on May 16.

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