Dharmasena Cooray: Man dies after brutal beating by shopkeepers who accused him of stealing chocolate

A man has died after shopkeepers allegedly violently beat him because he stole a bar of chocolate.

Dharmasena Cooray regularly went to the local market Eriyagama, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka to buy groceries for himself and his wife.

The 67-year-old was doing just that on August 5 when the owner of a small shop and one of the employees confronted Mr Cooray and accused him of stealing chocolate.

The pair said they had CCTV footage which proved he stole chocolate from the shop the day before.

They then allegedly pulled Mr Cooray into the shop and began brutally punching, kicking and striking him with an iron rod, BBC Sinhala reported.

The man was left with severe head and leg injuries. A woman who was passing by found him unconscious, called an ambulance and rushed him to hospital.

While he was being treated at the hospital, Mr Cooray was able to give a statement to investigating police officers. He identified both of the alleged attackers.

Tragically, Mr Cooray’s injuries were too extensive and he died on August 11. A post-mortem examination was unable to determine his exact cause of death.

Vijitha Wijekoon, the chief inspector of the crime branch in Peradeniya, said both shop workers had been arrested and are being held in police custody.

The death of Mr Cooray has rocked the local community, with many saying the violent response of the shopkeepers to a trivial matter is deplorable.