Former Matara Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) Dr Kithsiri Wijeweera who is now serving in Badulla, today told that even though blood transfusion and surgery were performed on British national Khuram Sheik, his death was imminent since the stab injuries on his face had cut blood and oxygen supply to his brain.
He was responding to a question by defense counsel Jayantha Weerasinghe PC who appeared for the first accused, Obadage Lahiru Kelum in Khuram Sheik murder case during cross examination.
Dr Wijeweera said so before Colombo High Court Judge Rohini Walgama during the trial into the killing of British national Kuram Sheik and gang rape on his Russian girlfriend Victoria Alexandria in Tangalle Resort on Christmas eve in December 2011.
Responding to Counsel Weerasinghe, Dr. Wijeweera said he performed the post mortem examination on the body of the victim on December 25 morning. He said according to the entries made on the bed head ticket by Dr. E.P. Wijetunge of the Tangalle Hospital, the victim had been admitted to the Hospital on December 25 midnight around 12.45.
Dr Wijetunge had examined the victim around 1.05 had found the victim dead. He said according to the Bed head ticket Sheik was admitted to the hospital by his wife and the hotel staff.
Dr Wijeweera said no waste bullet or bullets were given to him by anyone during his autopsy. He said there were 42 injuries on the body of Sheik and except for injury No 7, the rest of the injuries were minor ones and non-fatal. Some of them would have caused by sharp weapons while the others by blunt weapons or by broken glass bottles. He said it was a possibility that some of the injuries would have come as a result of contact with hard surfaces like floor.
However the injury caused to the face of Khuram Sheik was fatal and could cause instant death. The doctor said even an emergency surgery performed or blood transfusion given the victim he would not survive and death was imminent.
He said the injury No 1was theoretically caused by a hand gun, rifle or a military weapon It was an oval shaped wound and was 10 mm in length and 9 mm wide, said Dr Wijeweera.
Dr Wijeweera said the shot would have emitted within a distance of one centimetre.
He also said the shot had come from a higher elevation than the victim’s head. He said the victim was 5 ft and 10 inches in height and the person who shot him if a shorter person than the assailant should have climbed to a higher elevation than the victim to carry out the crime.
Otherwise he would have shot when the victim was in a seated position or while being lying on the ground looking upwards. The accused Obadage Lahiru Kelum, Saman Deshapriya, former Tangalle PS Chairman Sampath Chandrapushpa Vidanapathirana, Prageeth Chaturanga, M. Sarath alias Sahan, and S. Prageeth Chaturanga were indicted by the Attorney General for causing the death of Khuram Sheik and committing gang rape on his girl friend in Tangalle on Christmas Eve in 2011.
Further hearing was postponed for May 26.
(T. Farook Thajudeen)