Sri Lankan MP was involved in Japan illegal immigration scheme

A week ago we reported that a member of Sir Lanka’s parliament had been denied entry to Japan and deported for unknown reasons. It has since come to light that the MP was involved in an illegal immigration scheme:

JVP Kegalle district MP Anuruddha Polgampola had to resign from the parliamentary seat after he was nabbed in Tokyo while attempting to smuggle a Sri Lankan job seeker to Japan with forged documents.

Upon his return to Sri Lanka, Polgampola resigned at the request of his party.

An editorial from Island Online expresses satisfaction at the sight of one politician losing his position because of such an illegal activity, but it notes there are still other concerns that need to be addressed:

Readers may remember an instance last year when a non-cabinet minister had accompanied a group of persons, apparently looking at staying on in Japan as illegal workers, who had been detected at the entry point. These persons were not admitted to Japan; and the Sri Lanka public has heard nothing of what happened to the functionary who tried to slip them in. If leaders of the government were serious about establishing the facts of that case and dealing with the person responsible, they could have very easily done so. But nothing happened and the whole business is now in the limbo for forgotten things, very much like the case of the impromptu “visa office’’ that was being run in the premises of a ministry by a friend/associate/supporter of the minister! It is very likely that the Japanese authorities, remembering the previous instance, took a closer look at the so-called “personal assistant’’ who accompanied Polgampola to Japan because they have learned from bitter experience that many of our MPs are not above indulging in sharp practice.