A former land officer has been sentenced to 22 years of rigorous imprisonment by the Colombo High Court after being found guilty of accepting a bribe of Rs. 100,000 to issue a permit for the removal of a tree from a plot of land in the Thambuttegama Mahaweli Zone.

The verdict was delivered by High Court Judge Sujeewa Nissanka, who also imposed a fine of Rs. 30,000 on the convicted official.

Additionally, the court ordered the recovery of the bribe amount under Section 26 of the Bribery Act, treating it as a financial penalty.

Failure to pay the fine will result in an additional one-year term of simple imprisonment.

Following a lengthy trial, the judge also directed the convicted officer to pay Rs. 100,000 in compensation to the complainant.

The convicted individual, a 67-year-old former land officer residing in the Anuradhapura area, was found guilty of soliciting and accepting the bribe in exchange for facilitating the illegal permit.