News

Illegal gem miners take advantage of fuel shortage

Published

4 years ago

2022/07/6

By Ifham Nizam

Illegal gem mining, at the Yala National Park, had increased, with Wildlife Department officials claiming to be unable to conduct raids due to the current fuel shortage, Environmentalist Sajeewa Chamikara said. He told The Island yesterday large-scale illegal gem mining was on in areas, such as Kailakumbura, near Kumbukkanoyya, in Zone No. 4, in Yala and the Ruhunu National Park.

The area is a no-go zone for ordinary visitors.”It is high time the Wildlife Department Conservation and Forest Department were made essential services,” Chamikara said, noting that some gem businessmen from the Okkampitiya area employed about 300 men to destroy over 100 acres of the national park in search of gems.

The massive operation was being carried out with the help of backhoes and mechanical gem washing machines. “The biggest issue is the exacerbation of the human-elephant due to these illegal actions as the elephants, which have lost their habitat in the national park, are entering surrounding villages and farmlands.”

The ongoing operations are in violation of the Wildlife and Flora Protection Ordinance.

According to Section 5 of this Act, it is also illegal to enter the National Park without a permit. According to Section 6 of the Act, all activities, including destruction of plants, clearing of land and mining in the National Park, are illegal.

According to sub-section 67B1 of the Act, a person engaged in any illegal activity, in a national park, can be arrested without a warrant. Persons who engaged in those acts cannot obtain bail from the Wildlife Conservation Department and should be produced before a Magistrate’s Court, according to Section 63 of the Act., Chamikara said.

A person found guilty by a Magistrate’s Court can be fined between Rs 20,000 and Rs. 100,000 and/or imprisoned for two to five years.

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Opposition holds NPP Cabinet responsible for coal scam, three times bigger than bond fraud

Published

3 hours ago

2026/04/25

Thilina Walpola

Prof. G. L. Peiris

The Opposition yesterday called for the entire Cabinet-of-Ministers to accept responsibility for the coal scam. Addressing the media at the Flower Road Office of UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, former Foreign Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris emphasised that Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody’s resignation, in the wake of the damning report issued by the National Audit Office (NAO), has now implicated the entire Cabinet-of-Ministers.

Prof. Peiris asserted that Jayakody, who had been indicted in the Colombo High Court over alleged corruption, during the Yahapalana administration, stepped down after the NPP failed to suppress the truth on the coal scam.

The ex-Minister declared that Jayakody’s resignation, the first since the formation of new government, with a super majority in Parliament, was a devastating setback for the current dispensation.

The internationally recognised legal scholar said that a future government would move courts against the entire NPP Cabinet. Referring to the NAO report submitted to Parliament, Prof. Peiris emphasised that there was absolutely no ambiguity regards allegations directed at the Energy Ministry. The NAO report proved that the Indian company, Trident Champhar, that won the major contract, didn’t even have the required registration.

Prof. Peiris said that the coal scam was three times bigger than the Treasury bond scams, perpetrated during the Yahapalana time (SF)

News

Case against Yoshitha and Daisy Forrest postponed

Published

3 hours ago

2026/04/25

Thilina Walpola

The Colombo High Court yesterday ordered that the case, filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act against Yoshitha Rajapaksa, son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, and his grand-aunt Daisy Forrest Wickramasinghe, be recalled on June 10.

The case was taken up before High Court Judge Rashmi Singappuli.

At the hearing, State Counsel informed the court that a related case, on similar charges, had been filed before High Court No. 08. The court was further informed that a revised indictment has been directed to be filed in that case, necessitating the submission of a revised indictment in the present case as well.

State Counsel requested time to report on the progress of those proceedings.

Accordingly, the judge ordered that the case be called on June 10 and directed that progress be reported on that date.

The case pertains to three indictments filed by the Attorney General alleging that between March 31, 2009, and December 12, 2013, the accused had committed an offence under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act by depositing over Rs. 59 million in three private banks, the source of which could not be explained.

News

Three-judge bench rejects request by ex-IGP Pujith

Published

3 hours ago

2026/04/25

Thilina Walpola

A three-judge bench of the Colombo Special High Court yesterday rejected a request by former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Pujith Jayasundera to introduce additional facts to a statement he had previously made from the dock.

Jayasundera is an accused in the case filed over alleged criminal negligence in failing to prevent the 2019 Easter Sunday terrorist attacks, despite prior intelligence warnings.

The order was delivered by the bench, presided over by Justice Priyantha Liyanage.

Meanwhile, retired Senior Deputy Inspector General (SDIG) Nandana Munasinghe and Deputy Inspector General (DIG) in charge of the Eastern Province, Waruna Jayasundera, appeared before court as defence witnesses.