Liginthan Mahendrarajah is also convicted of two other counts of forcible confinement, involving a man and a woman, two counts of assault, two counts of assault using a weapon, threatening to cause death, threatening to kill the victims’ pet dog, and entering a dwelling to commit an indictable offense, standard-freeholder.com reported.
With no corroborating witnesses to the April 17, 2012, incident, Justice Laurie Lacelle had to rely on the testimony of the three victims and Mahendrarajah, who took to the stand to defend himself during a five-day trial.
There is a publication ban on the identities of the three victims.
Mahendrarajah had testified there were hard feelings between himself and one of the victims after his relocation from Sri Lanka in the late 1990s.
He and two companions drove from Toronto to visit the victims’ Cornwall house to settle a property dispute involving Mahendrarajah’s sister.
But the visit turned tense as Mahendrarajah ordered the three victims at specific points of time to stay put, in the basement.
Lacelle also believed "box cutters" were used to threaten the family.
One of the victims was also forced to drink salt water — a kind of payback for abuse Mahendrarajah said he suffered at the victim’s hands many years ago.
The victims eventually moved away from Cornwall due to concern for their safety. Mahendrarajah is due back in to court for sentencing on August 4.
