Five sentenced to 67 years of jail for Marine Drive land fraud

Five persons were sentenced to a total of 67 years Rigorous Imprisonment after they were found guilty of selling a plot of land worth tens of millions of rupees on Marine Drive in Kollupitiya using a fake deed.

The order was delivered by Colombo High Court Judge Gihan Kulatunga on Wednesday.

In his verdict, the judge also ordered the accused, who included four members of the same family, to also pay compensation amounting to Rs 14 million to the aggrieved party. They were also fined Rs 130,000.

The five were found guilty of selling a 29- perch land at Aloe Avenue on Marine Drive eight years ago, producing a fake deed whilst the land owner was overseas.

The accused who were found guilty are Christy Vivian Rodrigo, Dh am mikaRodrigo,Je ya ra j Amarasiri alias Jayanath, Jayantha Rodrigo and Chintha Rajapakshe.

The judge pronounced the accused guilty after determining that the prosecution had proved their case beyond any reasonable doubt.

The first accused was sentenced to 25 years RI and fined Rs 50,000. Court also ordered the accused to pay Rs 2 million in compensation to the aggrieved party.

Court sentenced the second, third and fifth accused to 10 years RI each and also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on each while the fourth accused was given 12 years RI and also fined Rs 10,000. The court further ordered the accused to pay the aggrieved party Rs 3 million each as compensation.

Senior State Counsel Wasantha Perera appeared for the prosecution.

Attorney-at-Law and Solicitor in the UK, Ruki Pinidiya watched the interest of the aggrieved party.