Noose to be imported from overseas

COLOMBO (News 1st) - The Ministry of Justice and Prison Reforms has taken steps to acquire a new hangman's noose from overseas. The Ministry said the measure was taken in response to a notice issued by the Sri Lanka Standards Institution which said that the present noose was unsuitable for use. The Sri Lanka Standards Institution mentioned that they have already requested the Foreign Ministry to import a proper noose from Singapore, Malaysia, Pakistan, Bangladesh or India. He added that the noose which is already in use was a gift from Pakistan in 2015. Meanwhile, applications have been called for two vacancies for the post of executioner and the deadline for application is the 25th of this month. At the same time, the Prisons Department stated that the necessary steps are being taken to acquire other equipment necessary for the proper functioning of the gallows. The Prisons Department will facilitate the President's decision to send the convicted drug traffickers to gallows. A list of detainees who received the capital sentence due to their crimes related to narcotics was handed over to the Presidential Secretariat on January 25th. Ministry of Justice and Prisons Reforms mentioned that the list was approved by the Attorney General and the list has seventeen persons sentenced to the gallows. The last hanging in Sri Lanka was exercised in 1976 at Welikada prison. A person named Chandradas was hanged on that day.