Dear Chris
I am sending you this article which I penned after much deliberation travelling down memory's pathway to get the facts and other relevant details. I have no points of reference other than the good old memory bank, and my recollections of these stories as Dad related them to me, and which I subsequently read in a series of newspaper articles over forty five years ago ! So sit back with a good bottle of Merlot, or something stronger as you get into the darker side of life on the thotum.
Salaam!
Bernard
TALES FROM THE THOTTAM - THE DARK SIDE
The sylvan surroundings, bracing climate and majestic mesmerising landscapes of the tea estates in the plantation districts of Sri Lanka are an inspiration to the poet, artist, and philosopher. But beneath this facade of nature at her very best, lie tales of dark secrets and murder most foul, four of which I shall set down in this article. The first, and perhaps best known was ' The Whitehouse Murder ' which took place in 1949.
Mr. Bruce Whitehouse was the Superintendent of an estate in the Ratnapura district, the name of which I do not recall. Every month he would travel to Colombo to collect the staff/labourers wages. On these trips he would follow a set routine. Having collected the wages from the National & Grindlays Bank, he would visit the Colombo Swimming Club for drinks and sometimes lunch, after which he would drive back to Ratnapura.
Mrs.Whitehouse usually accompanied him on these trips. Unknown to Mr.Whitehouse, his trips to Colombo and back were meticulously chartered and studied by none other than the kingpin of the underworld in Colombo at the time - a veritable Al Capone of the day - the notorious and much feared "Laathara Baas ". This worthy gentleman was responsible for many crimes, murder included, and had fallen foul of the law on several occasions, but thanks to a slick lawyer, he always evaded being put away for life. "Laathara Baas" and his cronies were particularly interested in the trips Whithouse made to Colombo and back due to the large sum of money he carried on the return trip. The criminal network was so well organised that they knew the exact day he would leave the estate. It transpired later that he was even followed to Ratnapura on a few occasions by a car which kept its distance, in order to ensure that the murderous plan these thugs had in mind would succeed when it was eventually carried out.
On that fateful day, true to form Whitehouse followed the script."Humourous" is a word I do not care to use considering the events to follow, but into this drama comes the humble Tomato ! Mr.Whitehouse had a fondness for tomatoes, and sometimes during these visits he would go to the Pettah market and purchase a sack or two of the best tomatoes to take back to his bungalow. On the day in question he did just that, and three sacks of tomatoes were placed in the boot side by side with the bags of cash. Now it happened that the bags of tomatoes bore a close resemblance to the bags of cash stacked side by side, and this odd mix played an important part in this sordid tale as would be seen later. So Chris, take another sip of Merlot and steel yourself for the action down the track, or in this case, along the Colombo - Ratnapura road. As usual on this day Whitehouse was followed to the bank, to his club, and then to the Pettah market - and from there to Ratnapura. In the vehicle trailing him were "Laathara Baas" himself and three of his hoodlums with one intention - to waylay the car at a designated spot, and steal the cash. Unaware that they were being followed Mr.& Mrs. Whitehouse drove on, until at a sharp curve near the old bridge on the Ratnapura road a vehicle suddenly overtook theirs and blocked the road.
Mr.Whitehouse slammed on the brakes, and before he could even begin to think, "Laathara Baas" and two of his sidekicks, fully armed and masked, thrust a gun in his face demanding that he handover the cash. If they thought that Whitehouse was an easy target, they thought wrong. To their surprise he put up a defiant struggle, attempting to grapple with the thugs. It was three against one, and proved futile. Incensed at being thwarted, the thugs responded in the manner best known to them - they shot Mr.Whitehouse at point blank range, and while his horrified wife watched on, opened the boot and took four bags of cash, making a quick getaway. Not quite - in their haste, thinking that the gunshot would by now attract some unwelcome attention, they had taken two bags of tomatoes along with two bags of cash, leaving the rest of the bags in the boot. Mrs.Whitehouse meanwhile, - full marks to this gallant lady - got behind the wheel and cradling her mortally wounded husband in her lap drove the car to the Palmgarden estate factory from where they attempted to get medical attention which was of no avail because Mr.Whitehouse died soon after. The full force of the law, and the best detectives worked on the case, and after about three weeks, "Laathara Baas"and his henchmen were arrested. Following a trial which gripped the nation, "Laathara Baas" and his cronies went the way that all "good" criminals go . He and three of them were hung at the Welikade jail, while one got a life sentence and died in prison.
To this day, the bend in the road where this gruesome murder was committed is known as "Thakkali Wanguwa" (Tomato Bend) . I have seen it and in fact on one occasion stopped awhile at this bend attempting to visualise in my minds eye the horrible events as they happened that awful day in 1949. Unfortunately not many are aware of this spot because the last book on this murder went out of print over fifty years ago, and with the passage of time events like this tend to be shrouded in the dark mists of memory.
In 1941 the Nuwaraeliya district was rocked by one of the most brutal murders which belied the bucolic charm of mountains valleys hills and dales, and life in those salubrious climes. I refer to the murder of Mr.George Pope, the Superintendent of Stellenberg Group, Uda Pussellewa. There is an indirect link to Carolina Group which I shall mention at the end of this episode. Mr.Pope was ever the strict disciplinarian and as tough as they came. He managed the estate with an iron fist, and woe betide anybody who stepped out of line. During this period, trade unions were formed on many plantations, and one day a group of labourers met him and requested permission to form a trade union on Stellenberg. Not only was their request refused, but they were soundly berated and threatened with dire consequences as far as their employment on the estate was concerned, if they persisted with this demand. Dismayed at the manner of the refusal in what seemed to them a reasonable request, and angered by the manner in which they were addressed, the labourers held the matter in abeyance, and for awhile life on Stellenberg went on. Mr.Pope used to visit the Superintendent of the adjoining estate at least twice a month for dinner, and the latter would return the visit. He had a standing order that whenever he returned to the estate late at night, the tea maker on night duty or the factory officer had to telephone his bungalow and inform the bungalow appu to keep the garage doors open no sooner he passed the factory. On the night in question, Mr.Pope went over for the usual dinner rendezvous, and left very late.
Driving along the road to his bungalow, a fair distance before the factory, the headlights of his car picked out some obstruction on the road which made it impossible for him to pass. It turned out to be the trunk of a tree, and if - there's always an IF in cases like this - he had fined tuned his antenna it would have told him that something was not quite right. Call it bravery or foolhardiness, but he stopped the car, went upto the tree trunk and attempted to dislodge it giving him just enough room to pass. The labourers who had laid this trap were hiding in the tea bushes armed with pruning knives. No sooner did he reach the trunk and attempt to move it, they attacked him in a fury of pent up anger with the pruning knives, holding nothing back.
On that dark lonely road, in the dead of night he was literally hacked to pieces not by one, but by six men who fled the scene having committed this dastardly deed. George Pope lay on that road of death, the flesh ripped from his body, his life blood slowly draining away. Meanwhile the bungalow appu, anxious that 'The Master' had still not returned as it was now almost 1.00 AM, telephoned the factory and expressed his concern to the tea maker, Mr.Ludowyke. Alarmed at this phone call, Mr.Ludowyke organised a band of laborers and armed with "pandans" to light their way, went along the road leading out of the estate. Imagine their horror at finding Mr.Pope in a pool of blood breathing his last. The labourers cleared the road and Mr.Ludowyke drove the car to the factory the dying Mr.Pope by his side. He summoned the dispenser and then arranged for the wounded man to be taken to hospital. To no avail. Having tenuously clung to life, Mr.Pope breathed his last in a scene straight out of hell. Events took a quick turn after this. The Police were informed, and I dont know about the wheels of justice grinding slowly because in this case the opposite was true. They came to Stellenberg with all speed and in the early hours of the morning commenced their inquiries. Fate lent them a helping hand almost immediately because at the scene of the murder they found a door key to a line room. At muster that morning, six labourers were missing and could not be found anywhere,including the would be union leader, Ramasamy Weeraswamy. Pieces of the jigsaw began falling into place when the key found at the scene fitted the door to his line room. He and the other five now the chief suspects had absconded. The police then threw all their rescources into a search which encompassed most of the plantations in the area and before long, one by one, the five suspects were arrested - except for the union leader. He evaded the law for almost five months and seemed to have vanished. The Police had by then printed 'Wanted' posters of the man for distribution, which were circulated as far as Kandy. There is a lesson to be learned here. Never take anything or anybody for granted, least of all the humble barber with his scissors, comb and machine in his dingy saloon, unlike the fancy hairdressing saloons and boutiques of today. One such barber among many ran a small barber shop in Kandy with his assistant.
One morning a scruffy looking character sauntered in looking the worse for wear requesting a hair cut and shave. His unkempt hair and beard did not concern the barber for that was his trade. What he noted was the filthy state of the mans shirt and sarong. He proceeded with the shave first, and then began the haircut. And this is where Alfred Hitchock could relate, or rather depict what followed with his sense of the dramatic like a scene in one of his classic movies, leaving the viewers biting their nails, and digging into their arm rests, in jaw dropping suspense. As he began cutting this customers hair, the face before him in the mirror accelerated his heartbeat as if he was walking a treadmill. Because, in the drawer of his little table at the back of the saloon there was a poster of the 'Wanted' man handed out by the police sometime ago. At the time of distribution the suspects hair was not long and resembled the face in the mirror before him ! Full credit to Captain Cool for not flinching or losing his nerve at this discovery. Politely telling his unsuspecting client that he had to answer a call of nature, he asked his assistant to continue where he had left off, went to his room, checked the poster, and having scrutinisd it once more went to the tailors shop next door and used their telephone to inform the police. Five heavily armed constables led by an Inspector made their way to the saloon, and the wanted man - the union leader, Ramasamy Weeraswamy -meekly surrendered, realising that escape this time was impossible. The long search of five months had ended. The case was heard by one of the finest Judges of the time, Justice Soertsz. Five of the accused, the union leader included were sentenced to be hung and kept their date with the hangman. The other accused was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment when it was conclusively proved that he had no direct link to the murder, but had aided and abetted the accused in plotting Mr.Pope's murder. One of the names of the accused was Iyan Perumal Velaithen. I cannot recall the others after all this time. And here's the 'Carolina connection". The Superintendent who succeeded George Pope was Arthur Doudney. Twenty years later he became Dad's boss on Carolina Group. And George Pope, before he took charge of Stellenberg was Superintendent of Watawala Estate, Watawala, the estate after Carolina, on the road to Hatton. And there this story ends.
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