26 November 2024 09:04 am Views - 174
By Roshan Thushara
A case has been filed before the Colombo Magistrate’s Court, alleging that Arjuna Aloysius, the director of W.M.Mendis and Company, who is currently serving a six-month prison sentence for tax evasion, defrauded Rs. 12 million by purchasing paper for printing a newspaper.
Arjuna Aloysius and Chaminda Sahan had been named as the defendants in this case, filed by Neptune Papers Pvt. Ltd., which imports and distributes paper for printing newspapers.
The case was heard before Colombo Additional Magistrate Harshana Kekunuwala.
Arjuna Aloysius was produced before the court by the Prisons Authority, while the second defendant did not appear in court.
Attorney-at-Law Fathima Suhariya, acting on the advice of Attorney-at-Law Dharmathilaka Gamage, presented the facts in court on behalf of the plaintiff.
The lawyer submitted that the case was filed on charges of fraud and criminal misappropriation, alleging that Rs. 12 million was defrauded by issuing four cheques on separate occasions in 2019, knowing that there were insufficient funds in the defendants’ bank accounts.
The lawyer representing the defendant, requested that the defendant be granted bail to allow reasonable time to study the case and obtain advice.
After considering the facts presented by both sides, the magistrate granted the defendant bail, requiring eight sureties of Rs. 500,000 each. A notice was also issued to the second defendant, who did not appear in court, to appear in court on March 19.