Kaweesha's unexpected death

When home-cooked fried rice becomes poison ....?
Unexpected death of 7 year old Kaweesha of Kolonnawa

Buying cooked-food such as fried rice in the night has both become a common sight and custom in Colombo and the suburbs these days. However, consumers tend to buy these food items while all the while knowing that it is poisonous and are cancer-prone; as there seems to be no alternative. It is the commonly spread opinion that home-cooked food is the best among other options.

Though it is said that outside food is poisonous .... what is to be done if home-cooked food is poisonous?


A student, 7 years of age studying in grade 3 of Kolonnawa Balika Vidyalaya passed away on 28th April as a result of food poisoning and that was after consuming a home-cooked meal.

She was living in a house in government flats in Kolonnawa. It was decided to cook fried rice for a birthday party of one of the brothers residing in the house where among the other occupants in the house were the father, mother and two other brothers. The food had been prepared by the father. Chicken was bought from a nearby grocery for cooking.

However, the father one of the brothers in the family did not like chicken and apart from them the others had partaken of the cooked fried rice and the chicken. It was after the meal that signs of a various nature had begun to emerge with the poison going into their system.

It was understood that the deceased girl's father had prepared the chicken curry, seeni sambol and the fried rice. It was the mother who complained first of a stomach pain after everybody had finished eating the dinner. Subsequently the deceased girl too had complained of a similar pain and as she was running a fever she had been given treatment from a physician in the area. Later she had recovered from the treatment; but her condition had aggravated after that and she was admitted to Borella Children's Hospital in that condition sometime after which she passed away on Monday 28th.

Though the deceased's mother Priyani (45) and son Dilshan (20) were once again admitted to IDH Hospital because of this case of poisoning, they have now left the hospital.

It is suspected that this small girl had died because of some poison in the chicken curry.

Officers of Kolonnawa Municipal Council are conducting an inquiry on the grocery that sold the item of chicken.