Alleged demand by SL diplomat for bribe Foreign Ministry orders probe into double-decker bus deal.

Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama has ordered an immediate probe into Maha Nayake of the Asgiriya Chapter Most Venerable Udugama Sri Buddharakkitha Thera’s allegation (published in The Island yesterday) that Sri Lanka missed an opportunity to purchase 65 double-decker buses from Singapore at concessionary prices as a Lankan diplomat had asked for a fee for negotiating the deal.

The Foreign Ministry says no such incident took place under the tenure of the present Sri Lankan High Commissioner in Singapore.

Full text of the Foreign Ministry statement:

The attention of the Foreign Ministry has been drawn to a news report which had appeared in The Isalnd and the Divaina of March 31, 2008 that referred to a statement said to have been made by the Most Venerable Asgiriya Maha Nayake Thero relating to a diplomat at the Sri Lanka High Commission in Singapore.

Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama immediately called for an explanation from Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner in Singapore and also directed the Ministry to ascertain the veracity of the substance of the report from the Most Venerable Maha Nayake Thero of the Asgiriya Chapter. The High Commissioner in Singapore has stated that the Mission had contacted the Most Venerable Maha Nayake Thero who had indicated that the alleged incident had taken place many years ago and that he would clarify this issue with the media.

The High Commissioner also has emphasized that during his tenure, there had been no offer for sale of 65 double-decker buses at concessionary prices as stated in the newspaper article. Therefore, the Ministry wishes to emphatically state that the alleged incident had not taken place during the period of the incumbent Sri Lankan High Commissioner in Singapore.

Although the alleged incident is said to have occurred many years earlier, Foreign Minister Bogollagama in deference to the Most Venerable Maha Nayake Thero, has directed the Ministry and the High Commission in Singapore to conduct a detailed investigation into this matter.