Tourist arrested in Sri Lankan 'orgy'

COLOMBO (AFP) - Police raided a small guest house in southern Sri Lanka and arrested a 42-year-old French doctor who was having an orgy with four teenaged boys, a police spokesman said yesterday.

The doctor, who was not named, had arrived in Sri Lanka two months ago on a tourist visa and was remanded in custody to reappear before the courts on 31 January, Inspector K W Jayakulasuriya said.

'We caught him in the act. He was wearing only a condom. We have also arrested the four boys who were with him,' Inspector Jayakulasuriya said. A magistrate ordered him to be tested for Aids, the inspector said.

The night raid was carried out on Monday at Kalutara, 45km (28 miles) south of the capital.

Homosexuality is illegal in Sri Lanka. The scale of child prostitution on the island is growing fast and estimates of how many children have sex with tourists vary wildly between the government figure of 1,000 and some social activists' claims of 30,000.

A boy can earn 200 rupees ( pounds 2.25) for fellating a tourist - as much as he could earn carrying bricks for 12 hours.