Three Remanded in Sri Lanka for Allegedly Soliciting Bribes for Cyclone Compensation

Three individuals, including a disaster relief officer from the Monaragala Divisional Secretariat and a Grama Niladhari (village official) from Monaragala, have been ordered to be held in remand custody until June 9. They are accused of soliciting bribes related to compensation payments for houses damaged by the Dithva cyclone.

The Colombo Chief Magistrate, Asanga S. Bodaragam, issued the order on May 25. The suspects, identified as former disaster relief officer Veerasinha Rajendra Sumith Weerasinha, Thanmalwila Grama Niladhari Nimal Walisundara, and a civilian named Cruz Vincent, face charges brought by the Bribery Commission.

During the hearing of two cases filed by the Bribery Commission, prosecutors stated that the disaster relief officer allegedly demanded and accepted a bribe of Rs 100,000 while processing the first installment of Rs 200,000 from a Rs 500,000 compensation package for cyclone-affected housing. It was noted that this money was solicited from a low-income complainant, adding a particularly egregious aspect to the alleged corruption.

Prosecutors further detailed that the suspect had requested a bribe of Rs 1 million from the remaining installments of Rs 150,000 each. Similarly, the Thanmalwila Grama Niladhari and the civilian suspect are accused of demanding a bribe of Rs 1 million when disbursing the initial Rs 200,000 installment of the compensation. The Bribery Commission requested that the suspects be remanded as investigations are ongoing, with statements from Divisional Secretariat officials yet to be recorded. The defense argued that the arrests were publicized by the media, but the Bribery Commission countered that suspect Vincent had admitted to accepting the bribes. The magistrate rejected the bail applications and ordered the suspects to be remanded until June 9, directing the Bribery Commission to present the investigation's progress on that date.