A businessman from Mannar has been given a six-month suspended prison sentence for disseminating misleading information about former State Minister Kader Masthan on social media. The ruling came following a complaint lodged under the newly enacted Online Safety Act.
The individual was accused of sharing audio recordings on platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp, containing false claims about the former State Minister. Colombo Chief Magistrate Thilina Gamage ordered that the prison sentence be suspended for five years. Additionally, the businessman was fined Rs. 5,000 and instructed to immediately delete all defamatory content posted online.
This case marks the first instance of a penalty being issued under the Online Safety Act, which was passed earlier this year. Previously, a conditional injunction had been placed on the businessman by the magistrate after considering the complaint filed by Kader Masthan.
The petitioner was represented by M.U.M. Ali Sabry PC during the proceedings.
