RATMALANA TRIPLE MURDER: UPDATES 9

Murder of wife and 2 children in Ratmalana
 Maduraranga runs short of money for Case

      It was reported from Courts quarters that suspect Maduranga who had killed his wife and two children in Ratmalana has faced a problem in not being able to pay the lawyers' fees.

     Maduranga who drew a salary of one and a half lakhs holding an Executive position in a garment industry had maintained a number of accounts and as a custom had most of those accounts in a joint-account form together with his wife.

     The reason for his lack of finances is that however much he was clever in planning the murder, he had maintained fixed joint-accounts with his wife which then are bound by legal conditions of both parties.

     As such, it is possible to withdraw cash from his fixed deposit accounts only with signatures of both parties. According to his plans,if it was however proved at the post mortem that his wife had died from a fire caused by natural circumstances, he would have been able to have some of the conditions of the said accounts relaxed. But since he is suspected of murdering his wife, in order to make a change in the accounts he requires a court order.

     Therefore, the suspect's lawyers pointed out that in order to pay their fees, the monies in Maduranga's possession is not sufficient and that he could transfer monies in the accounts in his mother's name because she had looked after him, of course on the wishes of Maduranga and that through such a process she could withdraw the required amount of cash from the bank.

    Mt. Lavinia Courts Chief Magistrate Nirosha Fernando has rejected this request saying that on the other hand the deceased Sachetana's mother expresses opposition as her daughter too holds rights to those accounts.

    By now, a number of Maduranga's accounts have been disactivated on Court Orders and though lawyers have requested that the accounts be activated, the Magistrate that further investigations should be carried out and for this purpose the Case was postponed till the next 11th.