Murder case: Lankan given bridging visa

A Sri Lankan man accused of murdering his girlfriend before fleeing to Australia on an asylum boat was released into the community on a bridging visa in 2012.

The Immigration Department confirmed it released an asylum seeker accused of murder into the community in September 2012.

Australian Immigration Department Secretary Martin Bowles, who appeared before a budget estimates hearing in Canberra on Monday, confirmed the man was granted a bridging visa in September last year. In April 2013, his visa was cancelled and the man was “re-detained”.

The man arrived on a boat in December and was transferred to Australia’s offshore processing centre on Nauru the following month. Courtesy: World News Australia