Undergrad remanded for posting false rumour on FB

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A man poses with a magnifier in front of a Facebook logo on display in this illustration taken in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, December 16, 2015. Facebook Inc said on Wednesday it is testing a service that will allow users of its Messenger app to hail Uber rides directly from the app, without leaving a conversation or downloading the ride-hailing app. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX1Z0SS

A university student remanded till May 23 by Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court for publishing a false post on Facebook stating that the flight en route to China with President Maithripala Sirisena on board had crashed.

When the case was taken up before Colombo Additional Magistrate Lochani Abeywickrama Weerasinghe, the Police informed Court that the suspect is a resident of Piliyandala and an undergraduate at Sri Jayawardenapura University.

Police requested the Magistrate to remand the suspect. Meanwhile, the Counsel appearing for the suspect informed Court that his client had only shared a post which was originally posted by someone on Facebook. He also requested the Magistrate to release the suspect on bail in any given condition.

However, observing all facts, the Magistrate said that this is the time the citizens should be mindful of their actions and be considerate of what they share in public.