A complication arose when two wives came to claim the body of a person who died at the hospital.

The Homagama Inquirer into Sudden Deaths had to resolve a dispute between two women regarding the acceptance of the body of a retired health assistant who died due to a kidney condition. Following this death at Homagama Base Hospital, two women came forward to claim the body, leading to a heated exchange. After considering the legal aspects, the Inquirer into Sudden Deaths ordered that the deceased's body be handed over to his first legal wife.

This 67-year-old man, residing in the Meegoda area, had served as a health assistant by profession and was retired. He was admitted to Homagama Base Hospital due to a sudden illness that occurred while he was at home, and he passed away on the 30th while receiving inpatient treatment.

The deceased had married a woman from the Kalutara area about thirty years ago and had two children from that marriage. However, he later abandoned his wife and children and, about twenty years ago, married another woman and resided in the Meegoda area. Although the second wife had three children from her previous marriage, preliminary investigations revealed that she had no children with the deceased.

This problem arose when the inquest into the sudden death was about to be conducted after the death. Upon learning of the death, the first wife arrived at the hospital and presented her marriage certificate, claiming the body. Simultaneously, the second woman, who had lived with the deceased for over twenty years, also presented her marriage certificate, demanding the body and the post-mortem report, which led to the heated situation between the two parties.

Mr. Chinthaka Udaya Kumara, the Homagama Inquirer into Sudden Deaths and Justice of the Peace, intervened to resolve this issue and clarified the facts to both women. He pointed out that a second marriage contracted without legally divorcing the first marriage is not valid in the eyes of the law. Accordingly, it was decided that regardless of how long the deceased had been married to and lived with the second woman, the legal right belonged to the first wife.

According to the post-mortem examination conducted by Dr. Damith Attanayake, the Judicial Medical Officer of Homagama Base Hospital, and the evidence presented, it was concluded that complications arising from long-term kidney failure were the cause of death. Meanwhile, it was also revealed that the deceased's pension had been transferred to the second wife's name. Finally, as per the order of the Inquirer into Sudden Deaths, with the intervention of Meegoda Police officers, the body and the post-mortem report were handed over to the first wife.