Former Civil Aviation Minister Piyankara Jayaratne was sentenced to seven years’ rigorous imprisonment by the Colombo High Court after being found guilty of a corruption charge.
The case was filed by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption over an incident alleged to have occurred while Jayaratne was serving as Civil Aviation Minister in 2014.
Jayaratne was accused of abusing his ministerial authority by pressuring the then Chief Executive Officer of SriLankan Catering to release more than Rs. 320,000 to Gambada Caterers in Marawila. The money had reportedly been used to pay for food supplied for a political rally and private functions.
The case was initially withdrawn in December 2019 due to the indictment not having received formal approval from all three members of the Bribery Commission. It was subsequently refiled, leading to the trial and conviction.
