Sri Lankan man understood to have self-harmed in frustration over lack of progress on protection visa

This article is more than 6 years old

This article is more than 6 years old

A Sri Lankan asylum seeker on a bridging visa has died from burns in an apparent self-harm incident.



Leo Seemanpillai, a 29-year-old Tamil, arrived in Darwin by boat in January 2013 and has been on a bridging visa since May 2013, living in Geelong.

The man suffered burns to 90% of his body, apparently in a self-harm incident which occurred early on Saturday. He died on Sunday morning at Melbourne’s Alfred hospital.



The immigration minister, Scott Morrison, confirmed on Sunday that “an illegal maritime arrival of Sri Lankan nationality suffered serious burns in an incident … I understand he died of his injuries overnight.”



Trevor Grant, from the Tamil Refugee Council, said the man had fled persecution in Sri Lanka in the later stages of the country’s decades-long civil war, spending time in an Indian refugee camp before arriving in Australia.



Grant said the man was frustrated at the lack of progress on his protection visa. “He was very, very depressed about his situation, not knowing what’s happening to him.

“He feared if he went back [to Sri Lanka] … he’d be going straight back to jail and probably torture,” Grant said.



Police are yet to formally identify the man or inform his family, none of whom are believed to be in Australia, Morrison said.



Another Tamil man was critically injured in similar circumstances in Sydney in April after receiving a letter from the Department of Immigration telling him his application for refugee status had failed.



Contact Lifeline on 13 11 14



• This article was amended on 2 June 2014. A previous version wrongly said the Tamil man mentioned in the final paragraph had died of his injuries.



