Interpol to help nail Clarke

.Clarke’s interview to the Sunday Mirror was published days before he was to be knighted in the Sri Lankan capital by Prince Charles. Following the international furore after the publication of the interview, the 80-year-old best-selling writer who has made Sri Lanka his home requested for a postponement of the knighthood till his name was cleared.

On the advice of the Attorney-General, the police questioned the author of the best-selling 2001: A Space Odysseyand Sri Lanka’s most honoured guest for over two hours at his home in the capital on March 30. “He vehemently denied the allegations but we are keeping an open mind,” said Nizam, denying recent reports that the case might be closed. Before Clarke was questioned, three of four other men quoted by the newspaper corroborating Clarke’s reported disclosures denied to the police that they had ever spoken to a journalist. The fourth was not traceable. “At that time we saw no reason to question Clarke,” said Nizam.

However, the Attorney General, to whom the case was referred, recommended his interrogation.

“Now it’s up to the Sunday Mirror to produce the tape and prove their credibility to the world,” Nizam said.Sri Lanka, which has been battling the scourge of paedophile tourists for several years, enacted a tough law in 1995 that specifies a minimum penalty of seven years and a maximum of 20 years for child abuse including the specific crime of paedophilia. The new law also specifies that anyone under 16years is a minor, raising the age limit from the earlier 12 years.