• Witness was warned on many occasions by the prosecution counsel to give factual evidence 

 By T. Farook Thajudeen.

 The Laggala Pradeshiya Sabha Secretary’s driver was remanded by Colombo High Court for giving false evidence in Court yesterday in a case against the Secretary of the Laggala Pradeshiya Sabha. 

 The prosecution witness K.G. Gunathilaka who was the fourth witness in a bribery case against the Laggala Pradeshiya Sabha Secretary Samantha Pradeep was remanded for giving false evidence in court while leading his evidence by the Counsel for the Bribery Commission before the Court yesterday.

 High Court Judge Amal Ranaraja remanded the witness for  deliberately giving false evidence before the High Court from the witness box on oath.

The prosecution counsel on several occasions had warned the witness to give factual evidence without making fabricated statements in court in order to mislead court.

 However the witness kept on giving false and fabricated evidence before High Court Judge Amal Ranaraja.  The Judge after observing that the witness was making fabricated statements intentionally to defend the accuse ordered to remand the witness for giving false evidence in court contradicting his original statement.
 In this case Laggala Pradeshiya Sabha Secretary Samantha Pradeep Ranasingha was indicted in the High Court by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption for accepting a bribe of Rs 100,000 from a contractor to release a cheque written in the name of the contractor for completing a road repair work in the Pradeshiya Sabha Division.