Sri Lankan man charged with murdering wife in Singapore hotel room

SINGAPORE: A man who allegedly killed his wife in a hotel room at the Holiday Inn Express in Katong was charged with murder on Monday (11 Sept). The incident reportedly took place on Saturday (9 Sept).

The defendant is 30-year-old Eshan Tharaka Koottage from Sri Lanka, and the deceased was his 32-year-old wife, Diyawinnage Sewwandi Maduka Kumari.

Eshan faced a charge of murder under Section 302 (1) of the Penal Code via video conference. The court heard that he killed his wife in a hotel room between 10:45 am and 4:42 pm on Saturday.

The defendant, wearing a white top, appeared calm during the proceedings. After he was charged, Eshan requested to contact the Supreme Consulate of Sri Lanka to hire a lawyer to defend him and expressed hope that the Sri Lankan government would send a lawyer to represent his case.

However, the prosecution pointed out that the case is still under investigation, and he is not allowed to make such contact.

The prosecution also requested that the defendant be remanded to the Central Police Station for a week, during which he will be allowed to be taken out of the police station and returned to the scene for investigation and collection of evidence.

Eshan will return to court for the next hearing on 18 Sept. If convicted of murder, he faces being sentenced to death.