American husband allegedly kills Sri Lankan wife in Saudi

A 41-year-old Sri Lankan woman, who was married to an American engineer, has been allegedly killed over a family dispute in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, by her American husband, ‘Lankasri News’ reported.

The Sri Lankan Embassy in Riyadh has hired a Saudi lawyer to plead the case on her behalf and the Riyadh General Court is currently looking into her killing after her husband was charged with the murder by the Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution.

The Saudi lawyer will look after the interests of the deceased, who was killed in 2010, to acquire compensation for the murder, a mission’s official told Arab News.

The woman, who hailed from Ampara, 350km from Colombo, had come to the Kingdom as a housemaid and at the time of her marriage to the accused, she had been a divorcee with two children.

If the accused is proven guilty, the diplomat said that the mission would request for blood money amounting to $10,000, but the lawyer representing the accused wanted it resolved out of court for SR10,000 since the accused does not possess much money.

The accused, who disposed the body by stuffing it into a pipeline used for gas and petroleum exploration, embraced Islam while in detention.

When the police in Eastern Province Governorate received a call from the company where the accused used to work, the murder came to light, saying they found a body in a seated position in a special well used for gas and petroleum exploration.

On the strength of testimonies given by Chinese and Saudi co-workers at Saudi Aramco, the American has been arrested by the police.

Chinese woman arrested with Rs4m worth gems

A Beijing-bound Chinese woman was arrested at the Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake, Sri Lanka, after the Customs found precious stones worth over Rs4 million concealed in her travelling bag.

Customs seized gems of 39 varieties, weighing a total of 8.135 carats, which was to be smuggled out of the country, Customs Media Spokesman, Director Leslie Gamini, said.

The suspect had visited Sri Lanka on four occasions within the last six months, her immigration records have revealed.

Further investigations are being conducted by Customs Superintendents, PD Jayasena,