Forest officer in bribery net Rasika Somarathna

A Field Assistant, attached to the Forest Conservation Department was caught in the bribery net yesterday, as he tried to bail out a suspect, who was arrested for illegal felling, for a fee.

The suspect, attached to the Gomarankadawala Forest Office, had been arrested by bribery sleuths, as he was accepting a part of the solicited bribe. Acting Investigations Officer of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption, Sarath Somaweera Lokuge said, that the arrested officer had demanded a bribe of Rs. 10,000 from a person who was caught in the act of illegal felling.

He had promised to withhold legal action and also release his seized equipment for a fee of Rs.10,000, of which he had claimed Rs. 5,000. The officer was arrested as he was claiming the rest of the bribe, which was Rs.5,000, Lokuge said.