The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal filed by two men convicted of murder, upholding the death sentences imposed by the Tangalle High Court.
The two convicted men, Rajapurage Sugath Weeraratne and Rajamunige Nihal Chaminda alias Mahattaya, had been found guilty of murdering Wijeyamunige Gunawardhena.
A three-judge Supreme Court bench comprising Justices Janak De Silva, Menaka Wijesundera and Sampath B. Abayakoon delivered the ruling on October 30.
The case involved a fatal stabbing following a dispute over the alleged theft of a chicken.
According to court proceedings, an argument had taken place earlier in the day after the victim was accused of stealing a chicken belonging to another villager.
Later that evening, the victim was attacked near his home. His father, who witnessed the incident, testified that the first accused stabbed his son while the second accused held him.
The victim sustained 11 stab wounds and died shortly after the attack.
The two accused challenged their convictions, arguing that the prosecution’s main eyewitness had given contradictory evidence and that the trial court had failed to properly evaluate the defence.
However, the Supreme Court found that the father’s testimony was credible and supported by other witness accounts and medical evidence.
Justice Menaka Wijesundera, delivering the judgment, observed that the eyewitness had satisfactorily withstood cross-examination and had not exaggerated his account of the incident.
The court also noted that the medical evidence concerning the victim’s injuries supported the prosecution’s version of events.
The Supreme Court concluded that the defence had failed to create reasonable doubt about the prosecution’s case.
Accordingly, the court dismissed the appeal and affirmed the findings of the Tangalle High Court and the Court of Appeal.
Justices Janak De Silva and Sampath B. Abayakoon agreed with the judgment. (Newswire)