7 people died from methanol alcohol poisoning in Wennappuwa illicit liquor

Senior Superintendent of Police Rohan Perera, in charge of the Chilaw Division, states that legal action will be taken under the charge of culpable homicide against the person who produced the poisonous liquor that killed seven people, and against the two women who allegedly sold the liquor.

Six people who allegedly consumed poisonous liquor died on the 6th of last month. Two bodies were found inside a residential room of a grinding factory in Waikkal, Wennappuwa, and another body was later found in a nearby house.

Meanwhile, three people who were admitted to Marawila Base Hospital due to illness also died in the early hours of the 6th, and a beggar was among the deceased. Additionally, another person receiving treatment at the same hospital died on the morning of the 7th, and it has been revealed that these four individuals also consumed poisonous liquor.

Marawila Magistrate Dinidu Samarasinghe, who conducted the magisterial inquiry into these deaths, ordered the bodies of the deceased to be referred to the Specialist Judicial Medical Officer of Chilaw General Hospital for post-mortem examination. According to that order, Specialist Judicial Medical Officer D.K. Wijewardena of Chilaw General Hospital conducted the post-mortem examinations of the deceased.

The Specialist Judicial Medical Officer who conducted the post-mortem examinations concluded that these individuals died due to methyl alcohol poisoning. Furthermore, the Specialist Judicial Medical Officer decided to send body parts of the deceased to the Government Analyst for further examination. Meanwhile, eight other individuals who allegedly consumed the poisonous liquor are still receiving treatment at Negombo General Hospital and Peradeniya Teaching Hospital.

The woman who allegedly sold the poisonous liquor and another woman who allegedly supplied the liquor to her were arrested by Wennappuwa Police. They are residents of Wennappuwa, Waikkal, and Thambarawila areas. After being produced before the Marawila Magistrate on the 7th of last month, the two arrested female suspects were ordered to be remanded until the 19th of this month.

A resident of Lunuvila, Bandirippuwa, Galawatta area, who allegedly produced this poisonous illicit liquor (kasippu), was arrested by Wennappuwa Police on the evening of the 7th. After the suspect was produced before the Marawila Magistrate, the police were granted permission to detain and question him for 48 hours. The main suspect has stated to the police that his kasippu production facility was washed away by water during the last rainy season, and he later used barrels that had stored thinner to resume kasippu production.

After the suspect was again produced before the Marawila Magistrate on the 9th, he was ordered to be remanded until the 19th of next month. The police state that based on the reports received from the post-mortem examinations of the deceased, the statements of the suspect and the female suspects, as well as the statements of the individuals currently hospitalized due to consuming kasippu, legal action will be taken in court against the main suspect and the two female suspects under the charge of culpable homicide.