Hiranya Kumudumali de Alwis, a 30-year-old Sri Lankan woman, has been charged with infanticide following the discovery of her newborn baby in a garbage dump in Dhigurah in Alifu Dhaalu Atoll in December last year.
The Prosecutor General’s Office has formally charged Alwis with murder, endangering the health of a child, and concealing a death.
The infant, a fully formed female weighing approximately three kilograms, was found dead in a plastic bag among waste in a landfill on 3 December, with the umbilical cord still uncut. Investigations revealed that Alwis, who was working at a guesthouse in Dhigurah, had concealed her pregnancy and neglected to take necessary measures for the child’s health during gestation.
Alwis is believed to have given birth between the night of 1 December and the early morning of 3 December. In a distressing sequence of events, she reportedly delivered the baby in a toilet, subsequently placing the child in a plastic bag and discarding it in a green trash bin designated for biodegradable waste.
Alwis was apprehended at Velana International Airport on her way to Colombo. She now faces over 28 years in prison if found guilty on all charges.