'Sil' material case appeal to be heard on July 10 before Appeal Court

The appeal filed regarding the High Court's verdict on the misappropriation of funds worth Rs 600 million during the presidential campaign of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa will be heard on July 10.

Former Director General of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) Anusha Pelpita and former presidential secretary Lalith Weeratunge have been accused of misappropriating the said amount belonging to the TRC to organise a 'sil' material distribution programme during the run-up to the polls.

The accused had requested the Appeal Court to accquit them of all charges by declaring that the verdict issued against them by the Colombo High Court was null and void.

The High Court had previously sentenced the suspects to three years of rigorous imprisonment each. High Court Judge Gihan Kulathunga while announcing the verdict had also imposed a Rs 2 million fine on each of the suspects.

Further, the accused were also ordered to pay Rs 50 million to the TRC for the losses caused to the Commission due to their fraud. The judge had announced that this verdict was issued to serve as a forewarning to the people to refrain from committing such frauds.