Sri Lanka prison chief kept in custody after fraud convict freed
Commissioner-General of Prisons Thushara Upuldeniya was arrested late Monday by the Criminal Investigations Department, over the release of fraud convict Athula Thilakaratne.
The government suspended Upuldeniya following reports the convict's name was smuggled into a list of nearly 400 minor offenders who were granted a presidential amnesty last month.
Colombo Additional Magistrate Manjula Rathnayake ordered Upuldeniya be held in custody until Wednesday, pending a criminal investigation.
'It was decided to suspend the Commissioner-General until the investigations are concluded,' the Justice Ministry said in a statement.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's office ordered the police investigation last week after the release of Thilakaratne.
He was serving a six-month sentence over a financial scam and is also facing 30 other fraud cases.
Police have launched a manhunt for Thilakaratne, who went missing after his unlawful release from prison was reported in the local media.
A presidential amnesty was granted to 388 inmates last month to mark Vesak, the most important Buddhist festival on the island.
Thilakaratne 'was not among those approved by the president to receive a pardon', Dissanayake's office said.
The president told a public rally last week that corruption was rife in prisons and called for a major clean-up.
He also warned officials to improve or face the sack.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
5 days ago
- The Star
Hundreds of monks honour fallen soldiers
Thoughts and prayers: Buddhist monks taking part in a prayer ceremony held in Phnom Penh, for Cambodian soldiers who died in border clashes with Thailand. — AFP Hundreds of Buddhist monks in the country held a religious ceremony to honour soldiers killed in recent border clashes with Thai forces and to pray for peace. They marched from the country's main religious school near the Royal Palace in the capital, Phnom Penh, to a nearby temple, where they were joined by nuns and laymen and women. The monks chanted and prayed to honour the souls of the dead soldiers. A board inside the temple displayed the photographs of more than 40 men in uniform. It wasn't clear whether these images were of soldiers killed, or included those who were wounded and captured. Cambodia has admitted only to the deaths of six of its troops in the fighting, which began late last month and continued for five days. Dozens of people on both sides, including civilians, were killed in the fighting and over 260,000 displaced on both sides of the border. A ceasefire that took effect on July 29 ended major fighting, though both sides have alleged violations of the truce and the underlying dispute over territorial claims has not been resolved. Khem Sorn, the chief monk for Phnom Penh, said the main purpose of yesterday's ceremony was to show support to the government for working towards peace and ending the war with a ceasefire. It was also intended to honour the souls of the Cambodian soldiers and civilians who were killed, and to appeal to all Buddhist countries, especially Thailand, to live in peace with each other, he said in a phone interview. 'It means that we only want to live side-by-side with Thailand as a good neighbour, living with unity and peace with each other,' Khem Sorn said. The fighting stems from a decades-old dispute over the ownership of several small pockets of land along the 800km border. Talks in Malaysia on Thursday reaffirmed both sides' commitment to the ceasefire deal but failed to secure the release of 18 Cambodian soldiers, who were captured in disputed circumstances after the truce went into effect. Thailand says it is treating the men in full compliance with international humanitarian law and will free them once 'active hostilities' end. The United States and China, which both played an active role in encouraging an end to the fighting, separately hailed Thursday's reaffirmation of the ceasefire, and said they look forward to supporting the parties involved in securing the peace process. — AP
The Star
5 days ago
- The Star
Hundreds of Buddhist monks in Cambodia gather to praise the ceasefire with Thailand and mourn the dead
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP): Hundreds of Buddhist monks in Cambodia on Friday held a religious ceremony to honour soldiers killed in recent border clashes with Thai forces and to pray for peace. They marched from the country's main religious school near the Royal Palace in the capital, Phnom Penh, to a nearby temple, where they were joined by nuns and laymen, and women. The monks chanted and prayed to honor the souls of the dead soldiers. A board inside the temple displayed the photographs of more than 40 men in uniform. It wasn't clear whether these images were of soldiers killed or included those who were wounded and captured. Cambodia has admitted only to the deaths of six of its troops in the fighting, which began late last month and continued for five days. Dozens of people on both sides, including civilians, were killed in the fighting and over 260,000 were displaced on both sides of the border. A ceasefire that took effect on July 29 ended major fighting, though both sides have alleged violations of the truce, and the underlying dispute over territorial claims has not been resolved. Khem Sorn, the chief monk for Phnom Penh, said the main purpose of Friday's ceremony was to show support to the government for working toward peace and ending the war with a ceasefire. It was also intended to honor to the souls of the Cambodian soldiers and civilians who were killed, and to appeal to all Buddhist countries, especially Thailand, to live in peace with each other, he told The Associated Press in a phone interview. "It means that we only want to live side-by-side with Thailand as a good neighbour, living with unity and peace with each other,' Khem Sorn said. The recent fighting was triggered by a land mine explosion in disputed land along the border that wounded five Thai soldiers. That came just a week after a similar incident. It was the latest eruption of hostilities in a decades-old dispute over ownership of several small pockets of territory along the 800-kilometer (500-mile) land border. Under pressure from US President Donald Trump, who threatened to delay crucial trade talks, the two countries agreed to a ceasefire on July 28. Talks in Malaysia on Thursday reaffirmed both sides' commitment to the ceasefire deal but failed to secure the release of 18 Cambodian soldiers, who were captured in disputed circumstances after the truce went into effect. Thailand says it is treating the men in full compliance with international humanitarian law and will free them once "active hostilities' end. The United States and China, which both played an active role in encouraging an end to the fighting, separately hailed Thursday's reaffirmation of the ceasefire, and said they look forward to supporting the parties involved in securing the peace process. - AP
New Straits Times
05-08-2025
- New Straits Times
Australia says foreign interference not tolerated after Chinese woman arrested
SYDNEY: Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Tuesday that Australia would not tolerate surveillance of its community by foreign governments, after a Chinese woman was charged with foreign interference and denied bail by a court. The woman, who has not entered a plea, appeared in court in Australia's capital Canberra on Monday after police charged her with "reckless foreign interference" for allegedly monitoring a Buddhist group in the city on behalf of a Chinese security agency. The court heard the woman's husband was a vice captain in a public security ministry in a Chinese province, and she had visited the Chinese consulate in Canberra in the days after her property was raided by police, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported. In a series of television interviews on Tuesday, Wong said she couldn't comment on an individual case, but added Australia was taking a stand against foreign interference. "We do not tolerate harassment, intimidation, surveillance of Australians and we have a strong framework to deter foreign interference in our democracy," she said in an ABC radio interview. It is the third time charges have been brought under foreign interference laws introduced in Australia in 2018, and the first time a Chinese national has been charged under the legislation. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in a statement the ministry "was not aware of the specifics of the case" but would closely follow developments and "safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of its citizens." "China has never interfered in the internal affairs of other countries, and firmly opposes any attempts to disrupt normal people-to-people exchanges and cooperation between China and relevant countries under the pretext of 'foreign interference'," the spokesperson added. A court suppression order has prevented media reporting the woman's name. The woman, who is also a permanent resident of Australia, faces a maximum sentence of 15 years imprisonment if she is convicted, according to Australian Federal Police. Police allege the woman was tasked by a Public Security Bureau of China to covertly gather information about the Canberra branch of Guan Yin Citta, a Buddhist group.
