A man, who had swallowed 48 paracetamol tablets and consumed half a bottle of kerosene in a bid to commit suicide over a family dispute, was admitted to Ragama Hospital in a critical condition.

"He is now in the Intensive Care Unit", a hospital official said.

Police said that his wife’s infidelity had led to the desperate 22-year-old father of a child to attempt to take his life.

He had bought the paracetamol tablets from different boutiques in his village off Wennappuwa to avoid raising suspicion. He had gone home and washed down the pills with a pint of kerosene, police said.

Police investigations had revealed that the victim’s wife was having an illicit love affair and he had many a time advised her to stop it. But, as she was adamant, he had tried to commit suicide apparently through pain of mind.