Johnston remanded till tomorrow

5 May 2015 11:51 am Views - 11853

Former minister Johnston Fernando, taken into custody by the Financial Crime Investigation Division (FCID) and produced before Colombo Fort Magistrate Gihan Pilapitiya was ordered to be remanded till tomorrow.

He was also ordered to be produced in the Kurunegala Magistrate’s Court tomorrow.

He was grilled by the Police Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) for more than six hours before producing him before Colombo Chief Magistrate Gihan Pilapitiya.
Police Spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara told Daily Mirror that Mr. Fernando was asked report to the FCID office in Kollupitiya at 9.00 a.m. and was grilled until 3.00 p.m. over charges that came under the Public Property Act. 
He said that as the minister in charge of the Cooperative Wholesale Establishment (CWE) he had allegedly ordered that goods worth more than Rs.5.2 million be released from three CWE warehouses in the Kurunegala District. 
As a result goods had been released from the CWE stores in Yanthampalawa, Wehera and Mallawapitiya during the election to the North-Western Provincial Council in September 2013. 
Mr. Fernando had however failed to settle the bills for the goods he had ordered to be released for some unknown reason. (KKK)