I find it amazing that not only the aggrieved depositors, whose anger is understandable, but also the press refers to Lalith Kotelawala as a swindler, a trickster, a crook and a multitude of other less flattering names.

The last I knew, even in Sri Lanka, a person was deemed to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

This mob mentality by The 4th Estate is deplorable and should be condemned. They should set a higher standard that the public can take note of and follow.

Kotelawala has already been tried and condemned in the court of public opinion which has not heard all the facts. No matter what the alleged crime is, justice and fair play should be applicable even in this case. We should not let the enormity of the rupee value supposedly swindled cloud our vision and our sense of justice.

Quite often circumstantial evidence can be damning, though not necessarily proof of guilt.

Kotelawala has not yet been heard though he has been tried, drawn and quartered in the press. Let us as fair-minded citizens of a predominantly Buddhist country do the right thing even in the midst of the shock and anger at the enormity of the losses sustained.