A Colombo Court sentenced a Chinese restaurant owner to six month imprisonment suspended for five years after he was pleaded guilty for selling beer without a permit and possessing a stock of illegally imported cigarettes.

The accused, Ling Su Finn was arrested by Kollupitiya police at his Chinese restaurant in Kollupitiya with 35 beer bottles and 10 illegally imported cigarettes.

Meanwhile, when the Chinese national was produced before Colombo Fort Magistrate Kanishka Wijeratne, the Kollupitiya police alleged that the accused had been convicted by Sri Lankan Courts over five similar incidents.

However, defence counsel who appeared for the accused told that his client had possessed the concerned amount of liquor and cigarettes for his own use. Having considered the submissions, Magistrate ordered the accused be paid a fine of Rs. 160,000. (Lakmal Sooriyagoda)