The State vs. Rubasinha Liyanage Ruwan – 88/2015-2015

In the case between the Hon. Attorney General, Attorney General’s Department, Colombo 12 (Plaintiff/Complainant-Respondent) and Rubasinha Liyanage Ruwan, Kotapola, Galdola, Ilukpitiya (Defendant/Accused-Appellant), the court addressed whether the accused was guilty of abduction to have illicit intercourse (Section 357, Penal Code), rape (Section 364(1), Penal Code), and murder (Section 296, Penal Code) based on circumstantial evidence, including the testimony of a child witness. It was held that the circumstantial evidence, supported chiefly by the credible testimony of the child witness, was legally sufficient to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt, and that the trial judge had appropriately evaluated the evidence and excluded reasonable doubts about alternative perpetrators. This decisio