Notes
| Date | 01 April 1930 |
| Published date | 01 April 1930 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X3000300215 |
| Subject Matter | Notes |
NOTES
CONVICTION AFTER
FIVE
YEARS IN CEYLON
Prepared from materialfurnished by the
INSPECToR-GENERAL
OF
POLICE,
Ceylon
IN July 1928 a man was sentenced to death by the Supreme Court of Ceylon
for a murder which he had perpetrated five years before.
The
crime itself
was a sordid one,
but
the methods adopted to bring the murderer to justice
presented remarkable features, and the perseverance and resource displayed
by the officers concerned have been the subject of official eulogy by the
Governor and Executive Council of the Colony.
That
this eulogy was thoroughly well deserved is shown by an examina-
tion of the facts. In August 1923 information was received at the Ratnapura
District Police Station that an offensive odour had been noticed by a person
walking along the road at Patulpana, and a rumour was current that a man
had been murdered. After some days' search the police officer who was sent
to investigate the matter discovered human bones by the side of a rapid
stream which runs for some distance parallel to the main road.
The
spot
where the bones were found was
in
a bend of the stream within aradius of
about seventeen feet. Several bones, together with two pieces of blue chintz
cloth, lay under two stones in a hollow by the side of the
stream;
five other
stones were found together at the same spot.
The
bones numbered twenty-
three in all.
They
consisted of rib, shoulder, and pelvic bones, and although
many searches were instituted no others could be traced.
The
fact that the
bones were found free of flesh was considered to be due to the action of wild
animals, which was also held to be responsible for the absence of any bad
odour which could have been noticed at a distance and for the scattering of the
bones.
A careful sketch of the position and shape of the stones was made and
all the circumstances were duly noted.
This
sketch and the notes ultimately
proved to be of great importance, since they showed conclusively that it was
impossible for the stones to have been rolled down by the force of the stream,
as was suggested by the defence in the Supreme Court. Moreover, one of
the stones placed over the chintz had a rough surface, while the stones in the
actual stream were smooth and more or less polished owing to the action of
the water. A subsequent visit when the stream was in flood showed that
although it was a roaring torrent at that spot the water was only
just
awash
of the cloth. On the pieces of cloth being shown to various women the latter
expressed the opinion that the garment of which they formed part must have
been worn by a Sinhalese person,
but
they could not say whether by a man
or woman.
Many rumours were current at the time.
It
was said that a man had
been murdered at a gaming place; that another man had eloped with a woman
possessing a large amount of jewellery and had murdered
her;
that aPaduwa
man named Malwarusa had departed with his wife, Babbi, from her home to
his home,
but
no foul play was suspected in this last case.
The
investigation
310
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