Sooriyawewa PS Secretary arrested for soliciting bribe

The Secretary of the Sooriyawewa Pradheshiya Sabha (PS) has been arrested for allegedly soliciting a bribe of Rs. 50,000.

Accordingly, the suspect was arrested by officers of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) while accepting the bribe to return a sum of Rs. 2.4 million owed to an individual by the local government authority.

The Bribery Commission says that after acquiring the Sooriyawewa fair ground for the year 2020/2021 on lease basis under his brother’s name, the complainant had made a request to grant relief for the amount deposited by him for the period when the fair could not be maintained due to the Covid-19 pandemic situation in the country.

Based on that request, the complainant was to be returned a portion of his deposit and in order to issue this the Secretary of the Sooriyawewa Pradeshiya Sabha had demanded a bribe of Rs. 100,000, which he had later agreed to reduce to Rs. 50,000.  

The suspect is due to be produced before the Hambantota Magistrate’s Court, Police said.