By Walter Jayawardhana

A Sri Lankan named Sibaskaran Sivanantham was sentence to a two and half years long jail term for being a ring leader of a human smuggling attempt in which ten people were presumed dead when the their boat capsized.

Sivanantham received a long jail term with his St.Kitts colleague while the other two (one Sri Lankan) were also convicted with lesser sentences.

Although SivananthamƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s lawyer tried to convince the judge that he was only trying to help his fellow Tamils to escape from Sri Lanka as they were suffering due to a war the judge refused to accept the mitigation , as he said, part of the boat load were Haitians and even from the fellow Tamils the ring leader had charged money and profited.

The defendants two Sri Lankan Tamils and two residents of St. Kitts island were arrested early this year , after it was alleged that their boat was trying to smuggle 23 migrants, mostly Haitians, to the United States Virgin Islands.

The boat capsized off the British Virgin Islands capital Tortola.

The boat was packed with people crashed into a reef in January this year. The people presumed dead were three children, two women, and five men. A passing fishing boat rescued 13 immigrants.

Prosecutor Mannon Ridderbecks had sought a seven year sentence to Sivanantham . Judge Monique Keppel, who refused to show any mercy, however gave him a two and half year sentence. The judge said he was making a profit out of his fellow countrymen. His St. Kitts colleague also received a similar sentence. Another Sri Lankan Tamil received a 13 month sentence (five suspended) with two years of probation. The other received a six month term.