Piyankara Jayaratne sentenced to 7 years’ rigorous imprisonment for corruption

Former Civil Aviation Minister Piyankara Jayaratne was sentenced to an effective seven years of rigorous imprisonment by the Colombo High Court today (September 1) after being convicted in a corruption case filed by the Bribery Commission.

The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) had filed indictments against Jayaratne over a payment made from the accounts of state-owned SriLankan Catering in 2014.

The case related to Rs. 330,000 paid from SriLankan Catering funds to a hotel in Marawila to provide food for political supporters who attended the United People’s Freedom Alliance May Day rally that year.

The prosecution alleged that Jayaratne, who was serving as Civil Aviation Minister at the time, exerted pressure on the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SriLankan Catering to make the payment using funds belonging to the company, causing a financial loss to the State.

Following a lengthy trial before Colombo High Court Judge Mohamed Mihal, the court delivered its judgment today.

Jayaratne was sentenced to seven years of rigorous imprisonment on the first charge and a further seven years of rigorous imprisonment on the second charge.

However, the court ordered that the two sentences be served concurrently. As a result, he will serve an effective prison term of seven years instead of 14 years.

The court also ordered Jayaratne to pay a fine of Rs. 200,000.