A video footage of Prof Ashu Marasinghe allegedly sexually abusing a pet dog is going viral after the footage was released to media by former parliamentarian Hirunika Premachandra.
Following the revelation by Premachandra and Marasinghe’s former partner, Adarshaa Karadana, Marasinghe resigned as President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s advisor on parliamentary affairs.
Premachandra said the offence, known as zoophilia, is a punishable crime under the Penal Code in Sri Lanka.
Marasinghe denies committing any crime. Claiming that the video footage has been doctored, he has lodged a complaint with the CID.
What is Zoophilia
The Collins dictionary describes zoophlia as “a morbid condition in which a person has a sexual attraction to animals.”
Britanica describes zoophilia as “a sexual attraction of a human toward a nonhuman animal which may involve the experience of sexual fantasies about the animal or the pursuit of real sexual contact with it (i.e., bestiality).”
Sex between humans and animals is illegal in many countries.
While zoophilia is a general term, in legal vocabulary the offence is usually described as “bestiality.”
What is Bestiality
According to the Cambridge dictionary, bestiality is the sex between a person and an animal.
It further explains bestiality as “behaviour that is very cruel or like that of an animal.”
Britanica gives the same definition to zoophilia and bestiality as: “sexual attraction of a human toward a nonhuman animal, which may involve the experience of sexual fantasies about the animal or the pursuit of real sexual contact with it.”
Sri Lanka Penal Code
Premachandra claimed that Marasinghe could be guilty of offenses under Sri Lanka’s Penal Code and could face up to 20 years in prison.
Section 365 of the Penal Code says: “Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman, or animal, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall be liable to fine.”
