Former Minister Johnston Fernando has stated that several media reports concerning the case against him, which was taken up at the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court today (28), are entirely false and misleading.
He made these remarks while issuing a special clarification regarding the media reports.
In his statement, Fernando said that only three charges had been filed against him under the Motor Traffic Act in the relevant case. He emphasized that he had not been charged with importing the vehicle in question into Sri Lanka, owning it, or failing to pay import duties.
The former Minister also stressed that he is not the owner of the vehicle in question and that a separate case has been filed before the Gampaha Magistrate’s Court against the individual who had possession of the vehicle.
He further pointed out that the legal issue of possessing a motor vehicle and a case involving vehicle import duty evasion are two entirely different matters.
Accordingly, Fernando stated that media reports claiming that he had committed vehicle import duty evasion or pleaded guilty to such an offence were false.
