Alwa Pillai Ponniah vs The Hon. Attorney General – CA NO. 151-152/1997-2012

In the case between Alwa Pillai Ponniah and Chandrawansa Rupasinghe Abeysiriwardane versus The Hon. Attorney General, the court addressed whether the 1st Accused, a Superintendent of Customs, solicited and accepted a bribe in violation of Sections 19 and 19(C) of the Bribery Act and whether the 2nd Accused, an Assistant Superintendent of Customs, abetted the acceptance of illegal gratification. The convictions arose from a 1991 incident involving bribery for permitting local sale of duty-free goods by El Steel Company. Ultimately, the Court affirmed the conviction of the 1st Accused, finding the evidence credible and adequate for both solicitation and acceptance of the bribe, while the conviction of the 2nd Accused was set aside due to insufficient evidence on abetment and failure to meet