Dinendra John nominated to contest the upcoming General Elections from Colombo under the Dilith Jayaweera led political alliance the Sarvajana Balaya Party was yesterday sentenced to a six month jail term. Dinendra John, along with Arjun Aloysius and Prasanna Kumarasiri de Silva, was sentenced to six months in jail for failing to pay Rs. 3.5 billion in Value Added Tax (VAT), as directors of W.M. Mendis & Company Ltd.
Speaking to The Morning Telegraph Jayaweera said “He is a good fellow. He is not a shareholder. Unfortunately Dinendra John has been implicated on a technical matter simply by being a Director of the company.”
During a talk show aired yesterday, Dilith Jayaweera addressed the sentencing of his candidate, Dinendra John, acknowledging the unfortunate incident. However, Jayaweera reiterated his support for John’s candidacy, highlighting several reasons for his nomination: John is fluent in three languages, studied at Royal College and comes from a mixed Tamil and Sinhala heritage. Heis the son of the late media personality Ravi John. Jayaweera emphasized these qualities as key factors in John’s selection for the upcoming election.
