Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) has been called upon to submit a report to continue the investigation on the inquiry launched to probe the incident where three Western Provincial Council (WPC) members were caught on camera browsing pornographic sites during its 2019 Budget presentation on November 9.
WPC Chief Minister Isura Devapriya told the Sunday Observer that they have ordered a report from SLT with details regarding the internet use on that day.
“We have to ensure that the incident actually took place to take disciplinary action against the councillors involved,” he said.
He added that the council requested SLT to block websites containing indecent material before they were made available for members and employees to use. However, the websites were not blocked as we asked, he said.
The council members Gunasiri Jayanath, Keerthi Kariyawasam and Sumith Zoysa were allegedly seen browsing pornographic sites on touch-screen computers, while Devapriya was presenting the budget.
Ironically, during his speech he said that developed countries do not use websites and search engines such as Facebook, Youtube and Google to browse indecent sites.
The state-of-the-art WPC building at Denzil Kobbekaduwa Mawatha in Battaramulla came under fire for its exorbitant expenditure to furnish the building. A door worth Rs. 15 million and 150 chairs valued at over Rs. 600,000 each had been ordered. According to information the facility that also boasts of high-tech computers cost about Rs. 6.5 billion.