Jeremy Parchman and Shimar Kelly have each been sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison for the 2019 death of Sri Lankan national Dinesh Asanka Fernando Wannukawatta-Waduge.
Parchman, 21, and Kelly, 23, were both convicted of manslaughter in January 2021, following a six-week jury trial. Kevin Parchman, Jeremy’s older brother, was charged with common assault in relation to the incident, which he originally denied but then changed his plea to guilty weeks before the trial.
During the trial, the prosecution showed CCTV video of Kevin Parchman assaulting Wannukawatta-Waduge inside the Bananas nightclub on Eastern Avenue, George Town. In the footage, Wannukawatta-Waduge was seen talking to a group of women in the bar. While speaking to one of the women, he leaned towards her and rested his hand on the middle of her back and was then swiftly punched by Kevin Parchman.
The footage showed Wannukawatta-Waduge stumbling outside. Minutes later, after being denied entrance back into the club by the security officers, he can be seen leaving and then walking out of the camera’s view. Not long after, Jeremy Parchman is shown on CCTV leaving the nightclub and heading in the same direction.
During the sentencing, Justice Cheryll Richards noted that both men had not intended to kill the victim and that if it was not for his medical condition, it is likely that he would not have died. However, she noted that it was an unprovoked and deliberate attack, during which the victim was defenceless, and the fatal blow was loud enough to attract the attention of several witnesses.
When sentencing both men, Richards said they were guilty of a serious offence that resulted in the loss of a life that could not be replaced. She noted that Wannukawatta-Waduge was the sole provider for his 2-year-old daughter and his wife, who had been diagnosed with cancer and is now unable to fund her medical treatment as she is too sick to work.
The two men were remanded after their conviction in January this year, and their time in custody will be deducted from their sentence.
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This sentence is way too light, it’s a slap on the wrist. They attacked this man for no reason — for no reason, he didn’t do anything wrong. And they’ll be back on the street in 3 years. This is not justice, it’s a joke.
The law says that you take your victims as you find them.
I hope the public prosecutor appeals this inadequate sentence.
And a restitution order should be made against them to support his wife and child.
A needless tragedy for no reason at all.