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Land fraud case
Money not the reason for coming: expert
By Teles Anandappa
Indian forensic expert Professor Chandra Sekaran told defence counsel M.L.M.Ameen in the land fraud case of the late Fredrick Obeysekera money was not the only motivation for him to come to Sri Lanka to give evidence in the case.

He said that if that was the case he could have refused to come to Sri Lanka and give evidence and collected monies from those who did not want him to give evidence in this case. In this case former Military Spokesman Sumedha Perera and former caretaker of the land Sarath Wijewardena are indicted with fraudulently claiming a portion of the ancestral home and property located in Rajagiriya of the late Mr. Obeysekera.

While cross examining, defense counsel questioned the credibility of the witness as a handwriting expert stating that the professor was not fully competent as he could not have had completed training in this particular subject as he was involved in many other fields in forensic science.
The professor denied the accusation and said that he was competent enough and internationally recognized.

Defense counsel then produced certain unmarked documents to which State Counsel S. Thurairajah objected and said they could not be accepted by the court. He also objected to certain remarks of defence counsel and said that as the proceedings were being tape-recorded he should refrain from doing so.
The Magistrate Rohini Perera then ordered all recorders to be removed but changed her order when Mr. Stanley Obeysekera, the aggrieved, requested that they were useful in this case.

The magistrate told State Counsel that it was the duty of defence counsel to produce in court all documents favourable or unfavourable to the accused so that the correct judgment could be delivered. Defense counsel asked Professor Sekeran how he commented on certain documents which were photocopies.
The professor said he had given an opinion and also called for the originals for further study.The case was postponed to July 18.

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