The Attorney General (AG) today (29) informed the Court of Appeal that the Chinese national who was apprehended by the Immigration and Emigration Department in an attempt to enter Sri Lanka with two passports is a suspect wanted in China with a pending arrest warrant over a drug charge.

Appearing for the AG, the Additional Solicitor General Janaka Bandara made this announcement when a writ petition filed by the Chinese national in question, Lee Pan was called before the Court of Appeal.

Lee Pan alleges in his petition that the officers of the Immigration and Emigration Department assaulted him following the arrest, and that as a result he was injured.

However, the Chinese national has accepted, before the Judicial Medical Officer that the injuries were self-inflicted.

Later, President’s Counsel Sanjeewa Jayawardene, who appeared on behalf of the petitioner, requested the court for permission to withdraw the relevant petition. 

The bench of judges comprising of Justices Nissanka Bandula Karunaratne and A. Marikkar, who granted permission for the withdrawal of the petition, also ordered the petition to be dismissed.

However, the petitioning party had mentioned in his petition that there were two passports related to the two countries China and Guinea, and that the officers of the Immigration and Emigration Department of Sri Lanka detained him, alleging that the Guinea passport was fake.

Accordingly, he had sought an order in the petition for the deportation of him to Dubai and to prevent deporting him to China.