Police sergeant remanded for allegedly soliciting Rs.10,000 bribe

By Bhagya Silva

Colombo, June 9 (Daily Mirror) - A police sergeant attached to the Kinniya Police Station was ordered to be remanded till June 23 for allegedly soliciting a bribe of Rs. 10,000 in order to refrain from taking legal action against an individual riding a motorcycle without a valid driving license. The order was issued today by Colombo Additional Magistrate Manjula Rathnayake.

The suspect has been identified as Idunil Wickramasinghe, a police sergeant serving at the Kinniya Police Station.

According to the complaint, the complainant’s son had been stopped by the suspect while riding a motorcycle within the police division. Upon being asked to produce a driving license, it was revealed that he did not possess one. Bribery Commission officers informed the court that the suspect subsequently took both the motorcycle and the rider into police custody and allegedly demanded Rs. 10,000 to release them without taking legal action.

It was further revealed that the complainant's son had agreed to the demand, and following a formal notification made by the complainant to the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC), undercover officers arranged a sting operation that led to the suspect’s arrest.

CIABOC officers requested the court not to grant bail, citing the need for further investigation into the incident.

The suspect had been arrested on May 28 and presented before the Trincomalee Magistrate’s Court, after which he was remanded till today.