Former Disaster Management Minister A.H.M. Fowzie has published a public apology in a Sinhala-language state newspaper on Saturday (October 24), following a Supreme Court ruling over the misuse of a government vehicle for personal purposes.
The apology advertisement follows the Supreme Court’s September 29 ruling ordering Fowzie to pay approximately Rs. 6.6 million to the state’s Consolidated Fund and publish public apologies in Sinhala, Tamil and English newspapers.
The Supreme Court found that Fowzie had violated the fundamental right to equality under Article 12(1) of the Constitution by using a vehicle provided by the Netherlands government for Sri Lanka’s disaster management activities for his personal benefit.
The court described his conduct as a “textbook betrayal” of public trust.
The three-judge bench comprised Chief Justice Preethi Padman Surasena and Justices Janak de Silva and Arjuna Obeyesekere.
The ruling followed a fundamental rights petition filed by former Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Chairman Chandra Jayaratne.
The court also directed Fowzie to publish half-page apology advertisements, featuring a photograph of the vehicle, in the state newspapers Silumina, Sunday Observer and Thinakaran. (Newswire)