Sri Lankan judge sentence two men to death for causing death to tsunami victim

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka: A Sri Lankan court has sentenced two men to die for causing the death of a woman, who survived the first waves of the 2004 tsunami but was pushed back into the sea by the duo after snatching her gold chain, a police officer said Thursday.

After yanking her necklace, the two let Dineti Deshika fall back into the torrent on Dec. 26, 2004. Her body was found after the waters receded.

The incident in the southern port city of Galle got wide publicity and condemnation in Sri Lanka, where the tsunami killed at least 35,000 people and affected 1 million.