The former Chairman of the Deraniyagala Pradeshiya Sabha, Anil Champika Wijesinghe alias ‘Atha Kota’, was sentenced to 24 years rigorous imprisonment by the Colombo High Court after being found guilty on bribery charges.
In addition to the prison sentence, High Court Judge Gihan Kulatunga also ordered the defendant to pay a fine of Rs 20,000 and a penalty amount of Rs 400,000.
He was also ordered to pay Rs 250,000 as compensation to the plaintiff while failing to do so would result in him serving another 2 years in prison.
The former PS chairman had demanded a bribe of Rs 500,000 to issue a Street Line Certificate for a property belonging to a woman from Deraniyagala in 2001, and had accepted Rs 400,000 out of that amount through a technical officer of the Pradeshiya Sabha.
The Bribery Commission had filed a case against Anil Champika, accusing him of committing a crime under the Bribery Act.
Delivering the verdict following a long, drawn-out hearing, High Court Judge Gihan Kulatunga stated that the charges leveled against the defendant have been proven beyond a reasonable doubt and sentenced the former local politician.
