‘Bouncer Terror’ IN COLOMBO NIGHTCLUBS

Many reports of managers and owners active or passive encouragement in assaults

The Daily Mirror has received a multitude of complaints from patrons of Colombo’s leading nightclubs, detailing brutal assaults and harassments they had faced at the hands of nightclub bouncers (security personnel), in some instances with the full knowledge or participation of the clubs’ owners and management.

The brutal assault on a 21-year-old youth at the Kama- Colombo nightclub, allegedly by the bouncers of the club has resulted in a series of incidents being highlighted by patrons of Colombo’s nightclubs.

It has come to light that the bouncers of many of Colombo nightclubs had been involved in merciless assaults on patrons who were perceived as below the ‘high spender’ or ‘powerful’ range irrespective of the level of provocation.

Club owners who accounted for considerable clout due to their financial power, either employed bouncers personally or sub-contracted the security duties to private security firms.

Both categories of employers hold equal clout politically and financially with many of their assaults being unreported by the victims due to fear of reprisal.

In the most recent incident, eyewitnesses said that the 21-year-old youth was assaulted and dragged down a flight of stairs within the club by its bouncers.

The boy was brought outside the club and he had then pleaded with the manager standing outside the club to have the assault stopped.

The manager, according to eyewitnesses had momentarily halted assault and allegedly had the boy taken to the car park at the rear side of ’KamaColombo’ and directed the club’s bouncers to continue with the brutality.

Many incidents of similar nature which have occurred at nightclubs in Colombo have been reported to the Daily Mirror. The incidents are not confined to the highlighted assault or club but rather are a phenomenon present in all clubs operating in Colombo, according to reports.