Former Aviation Minister Piyankara Jayaratne has been sentenced to seven years of rigorous imprisonment by the Colombo High Court over bribery charges.
The Bribery Commission filed the case against former Aviation Minister Priyankara Jayaratne, alleging that he committed the offense of “corruption” by causing a loss to the government. The allegation relates to an incident in which SriLankan Catering released a sum of Rs. 320,000 following a request made by the defendant to provide lunch for his supporters participating in the May Day parade of 2014.
Following a lengthy trial before Colombo High Court Judge Mohamed Mihail, the date was fixed for today (01) for the delivery of the verdict.
The charges state that a sum of Rs. 320,000 was paid from the account of SriLankan Catering, a state-owned enterprise, to a private catering service in Marawila for the provision of the said refreshments.
Furthermore, the indictment states that Piyankara Jayaratne, who was serving as the Minister of Civil Aviation at the time, had influenced an executive officer of SriLankan Catering to make the relevant payment.
