RIYADH, 1 December 2006 — The body of the Sri Lankan who was hanged in Kuwait on Tuesday was flown to Colombo by SriLankan Airlines yesterday, Sri Lankan Ambassador to Kuwait, S.C.A.M. Zuhyle told Arab News.
Kottaduwa Gamage Sanjaya Ruwankumara, 27, from Weligama was convicted of murder and was scheduled to be hanged on Nov. 21. But, following a clemency plea made by the Sri Lankan Embassy in Kuwait, the hanging was postponed for a week.
Refuting newspaper reports that the executed Sri Lankan remained alive five hours after he was hanged, Zuhyle said that doctors pronounced him dead eight minutes after the hanging.
The costs of the repatriation of his body was borne by the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE). The envoy said that he had informed the Foreign Ministry in Colombo about the arrival of the body.
Arrangements have been made to enable the dead man’s parents to receive the coffin at the airport,” he said.”
