Sri Lanka, April 28 -- Five men have been sentenced to death for the murder of a 21-year-old man in the Modara area of Colombo in 2012.

The Colombo High Court delivered the verdict today (28), finding the defendants guilty of fatally assaulting the victim with clubs and cricket stumps.

High Court Judge Navaratne Marasinghe also handed down life sentences to two other individuals in connection with the same case. These defendants were convicted on three charges, including murder.

The judge took into consideration the age of two of the convicted individuals at the time of the crime. The second and ninth defendants were under 18 years old in 2012, leading to their life sentences rather than the death penalty.

Following a protracted trial...