Minister Ranatunga found guilty of one charge; two years RI suspended, fined Rs 25 mn

Threatening a businessman

By AJA Abeynayake

Colombo High Court Judge Manjula Tillakaratne yesterday sentenced Minister Prasanna Ranatunga to two years rigorous imprisonment, suspended for five years, after he was found guilty of one of the charges in a case filed for threatening a businessman.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs. 25 Million on the Minister and ordered him to pay Rs. 1 million as compensation.

If the Minister fails to pay the Rs. 25 million fine, nine more months will be added to the sentence.

If the Minister fails to pay the Rs. 1 million compensation, three more months will be added to the sentence.

The Minister’s wife, and another person, also charged in the case, were acquitted and released.

They were accused of threatening a businessman named G. Mendis and demanding Rs. 64 million to evict unauthorised occupants from a land in the Meethotamulla area in Kolonnawa. The Attorney General filed the case on 15 individual counts.

The Attorney General filed the case against the former Western Province Chief Minister before the Colombo High Court in May 2016.