05 July 2005 :

five men were sentenced to hang for killing Sarath Ambepitiya, a Sri Lankan judge who had handed down heavy sentences on gangsters. The murder of Judge Ambepitiya, who was gunned down at his Colombo home on November 19, 2004, rocked the judiciary and the political establishment. Police chief Chandra Fernando personally took over the investigation. The five sentenced by the Colombo High Court were led by Potta Nauffer, a man suspected of running an underworld gang linked to the drugs trade.