(COLOMBO) – A Sri Lankan small-time hotelier was arrested on Thursday for allegedly over pricing a local snack to a foreign tourist, the second such arrest to be made inside 48 hours, police said on Friday.
They said the man was picked up at the scene located in Sri Lanka’s southern town of Kalutara where the incident took place earlier on this week.
He is alleged to have demanded an exorbitant price from the unsuspecting foreigner for a single snack and a cup of tea.
Videos of the incident went viral on social media platforms leading to mounting protests from locals.
Following the exposure on social media officials from the Consumer Affairs Authority and the regional Tourist Police visited the eatery for a further examination of the place and to ascertain the prices of food items.
The suspect was due to be produced before a local Magistrate sometime later today, police said.
The arrest comes barely 48 hours after the owner of a street food stall was arrested on Wednesday in the heart of the commercial capital in Colombo for allegedly price-gouging and verbally abusing a male foreign tourist.
They said the man was arrested after the incident went viral on social media platforms.
He was subsequently fined Rs. 50,000 or US$150 and released on conditional bail.
The twin incidents prompted the country’s Tourism Minister Diana Gamage to warn of stern action against individuals found targeting foreign tourists with unscrupulous prices or abuse of whatever kind.
Gamage known for her maverick comments in the past has even called for the legalizing of Marijuana, expanding night club activity and even hinted at lifting the proscription of prostitution if the tourism industry was to be promoted to a profitable sector in this conservative island-nation.
