Coventry University students suspended after robbing another student on way home - The Coventry Observer

Coventry University students suspended after robbing another student on way home

Coventry Editorial 22nd Jan, 2019   0

THREE Coventry University students have been suspended from their courses after robbing another student as he made his way home from studying in the library late at night.

But although they have missed a year of their courses as a result, they have narrowly escaped being jailed after pleading guilty at Warwick Crown Court to their parts in the robbery.

Gihan Gamage (20) of Moorhouse Close, Wellington, Telford; Ghinal Leitan (21) of Elm Road, Earlsdon, Coventry; and Manul Desilva (21) of Sussex Close, Slough, were sentenced to two years in prison suspended for 12 months.

All three were also ordered by Judge Sylvia de Bertodano to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work and to pay £600 compensation each to their victim within 28 days.




Prosecutor Lee Marklew said that at just after midnight on November 1 a final-year student was walking home from Coventry University library, where he had been studying, when he was attacked from behind by Gamage.

He was grabbed in a headlock before being thrown to the floor and ordered to hand over his i-Phone.


The frightened student did as he was told, and one of the three, who had covered their lower faces, demanded the password.

He was then pulled to his feet and was being frogmarched along the road towards some bushes when a woman who had seen what happened asked if he was OK and said she was calling the police.

One of the three had taken his rucksack, which he managed to grab back before they made off and the woman phoned the police.

With the help of CCTV cameras, they were stopped in a nearby street and arrested, and at first they claimed they had come from the city centre and were heading to the station.

But a police dog followed a trail from where they had been stopped to the scene of the robbery, said Mr Marklew.

When they were interviewed they at first denied being involved in the robbery, but on being shown CCTV footage, Gamage admitted he was the one who had thrown their victim to the ground.

Gamage, an architectural student at the university, said that afterwards they struggled to come to terms with what they had just done, and had smashed the phone and thrown it way.

Leitan said he was the one who had asked for the password and pulled their victim to his feet, planning to take him into nearby bushes out of sight.

After first maintaining his false account, Desliva said he had taken the rucksack from their victim, but claimed he had then handed it back, rather than it being snatched back.

In a statement, the victim said: “I feel deeply saddened that fellow students at my university have done this to me.”

He added that he had had to buy a new phone and, worried about walking home late at night, had had to spend more than £100 on taxis since the robbery.

Piers Mostyn, for Leitan and Gamage, said: “This is a tragic example of three otherwise well-meaning young men who did something very out of character in a spontaneous moment.

“What comes through with Mr Gamage is the deep shame he feels. Mr Leitan is described as being very remorseful. He is in his final year, doing computer studies.”

Mr Mostyn said the university had suspended all three, and they will have to re-apply to continue with their courses next year, either at Coventry or another university.

He added that both young men were from the Sri Lankan Catholic community, and both were involved in charity work.

Michael Epstein, for Desilva, who was studying business administration, said: “He, like his co-defendants, fully accepts his responsibility for what was a horrific moment of stupidity.

“Everyone has been searching for an explanation of how three students of good character and from good families have behaved in this way. It’s likely to have been a thrill-seeking incident. It was a rare moment of stupidity.”

Sentencing the three, Judge de Bertodano told them: “In the early hours of the 1st of November after Halloween, you three were out in the streets, you covered up your faces and approached a student who was walking on his own.

“You grabbed him and threw him to the floor and demanded his phone, telling him that if he gave it, he would not get hurt.

“It is absolutely terrifying to be set upon in the street late at night by three people you do not know who have got their faces covered. He didn’t know you are all otherwise respectable young students, you could have been anyone.

“When I read these papers it was absolutely clear to me I was going to be sending the three of you out of the door at the back and to prison. But I can just avoid doing that.”

Public Notices

View and download all of the public notices in the Coventry Observer.

Reader Travel

Check out all of the latest reader travel offers to get your hands on some free gifts.

Business Directory

From plumbers, to restaurants, we can provide you with all the info you need.

Online Editions

Catch up on your local news by reading our e-editions on the Coventry Observer.