Former Judge Sarath de Abrew's sudden death -- Update

Former Judge Sarath de Abrew's sudden death -- Update

The death of former Supreme Court Judge Mr. Sarath de Abrew has turned into a mystery because it cannot be specifically established as to whether the incident of his death of falling down from the top floor of his house was the result of an act of suicide,

being pushed down or having lost his balance.

His wife, daughter, a domestic aide and a lady who was a tutor to his daughter were living in the two storied house where Mr. de Abrew lived. On the morning of this day of the fateful incident, members of his family had escorted Mr. de Abrew for ayurvedic treatment for some ailment to a place in Katubedda which had been frequented for some time, it is reported. On arrival home he had retired to his room on the top floor, it was reported. On investigations conducted after the incident it had been observed that a bottle of liqour, a glass containing  some liquor and packets of cigarettes etcetera were found in his room and it is suspected that he had consumed liquor in the morning in his room. It is understood that he had after being in his room for a period of time had then reprimanded his daughter from the balcony of his room. It is learned that he had cast remarks to his daughter that she had neglected and not taken proper action over letters that were delivered home. The incident of falling down was reported a little while after that.

The suspicion still exists whether he had fallen down after being intoxicated with liquor having become aggressive or had jumped down in a frenzy or whether someone had pushed him down. The distance from the top floor to the spot his body struck the ground was about 16 feet and the ground there was paved with cement. After the fall, his head had got smashed and there had been severe bleeding as a result. The tutor in the house had taken action to bring a three-wheel driver to the scene and he was requested to drive the jeep belonging to Mr. de Abrew and thus the victim was rushed to Kalubowila Hospital. Hospital sources said that he had by then had passed away because of excessive bleeding.

It was from sometime back that a lady tutor had been employed to remain in the house permanently and attend to the education of his daughter the latter of whom incidentally was suffering from a mental sickness. It was this tutor had in fact provided evidence to the effect that Mr. de Abrew had jumped down from the balcony. There is information that it was she who had initially notified members of his house. The police are conducting inquiries to ascertain whether the victim's death was a result of being pushed down by somebody. Clues has been obtained that a person who comes from  a narrow path which runs close to this house provides could gain access to  the balcony with ease. Police sources have mentioned that they are in the process of consolidating CCTV data to track those who had been moving to and fro along this path at the time of the accident.

There is evidence to support the fact that since all judicial activities had been suspended from Mr. de Abrew by the Judicial Service Commission, Mr. de Abrew had spent his time under mental pressure. However there is no convincing evidence to point in the direction that he had committed suicide on this occasion. At the time of his death the former Supreme Court Judge was 63 years old. The Mount Lavinia Police are conducting wide-scale investigations in this connection.