Sumathipala denies fraud

Thilanga Sumathipala, the president of Sri Lanka's cricket board and a director of the International Cricket Council, was charged under the Immigration and Emigration Act on Friday and remanded in custody until the start of his trial on Feb 10. Sumathipala pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Sumathipala has become embroiled in a complex passport fraud scandal involving an underworld gangster called Dammika Amarasinghe, who allegedly travelled to watch the 1999 World Cup in England as a guest of the cricket board in 1999. Amarasinghe, the first suspect in the case, was gunned down in a Colombo courthouse on Jan 9 before being charged.

Sumathiapala, also the chairman of Sri Lanka Telecom, has been held in custody at the Colombo National Hospital rather than Welikada Prison since being being first remanded. According to his lawyers, he's suffering from acute kidney problems and a painful spinal condition that has left him unable to walk. He attended court in a wheelchair.

After lengthy submissions from Sumathipala's legal team, who argued that there was insufficient evidence to frame charges, and the prosecution, the judge fixed a trial for Feb 10, 13, 17, 19 and 20.