Muthuhettigama leaves for Singapore despite arrest warrant

Deputy Minister of Minor Export Crop Promotion Nishantha Muthuhettigama, against whom an arrest warrant was issued, has left the country for Singapore in the wee hours today.

The deputy minister reportedly left the country at around 12.40am today through the VIP terminal at the Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake.

On Wednesday, the Baddegama Magistrate’s Court issued a warrant for the arrest of Muthuhettigama in connection with the recent torching of an election stage of Common Candidate Maithripala Sirisena in Wanduramba.

However, speaking to an Ada Derana reporter after leaving the country today, the Deputy Minister had said that he is visiting Singapore with two close associates for a holiday and that he would return to the island before the Presidential Election.

Emphasizing that he had the utmost respect for the judiciary, Muthuhettigama said that he had decided to leave the country for a vacation due to the mental stress he had suffered in the wake of recent events.

The deputy minister has been accused over the torching of the Common Candidate’s election stage, damaging two shops in Udappuwa and for attempting to forcefully release two suspects in police custody.

Three supporters of the Deputy Minister were arrested and remanded for allegedly torching and damaging a venue of common candidate Maithripala Sirisena’s election stage in Wanduramba.

Later three security officers assigned to Muthuhettigama were also arrested and remanded by the Baddegama Magistrate’s Court. However, they were recently released on bail.

The case was postponed to December 29 while the Inspector General of Police (IGP) was nstructed to produced the deputy minister and his driver before the court on the said date.