Former Civil Aviation Minister Piyankara Jayaratne has been sentenced to seven years of rigorous imprisonment after being found guilty of a corruption charge filed by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC).
The sentence was handed down by Colombo High Court Judge Mohamed Mihal following a lengthy trial.
The case concerns a payment of Rs. 330,000 made from the accounts of state-owned SriLankan Catering Ltd. to a private catering company in Marawila to provide meals for political supporters who attended the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) May Day rally in 2014.
According to the indictment, Jayaratne, who was serving as the Minister of Civil Aviation at the time, had instructed an executive of SriLankan Catering to make the payment for the catering services.
CIABOC subsequently filed an indictment before the Colombo High Court against the former minister in connection with the transaction.
