A video circulated widely on social media as an extortion incident in the Maradana-Panchikawatta area was the product of a dispute over a mobile phone repair, Pettah Police have said after opening an investigation.
Preliminary inquiries found the incident arose from an argument between a customer and a mobile phone repair shop over an Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max, the Daily Mirror reported.
What police say happened
The customer handed the phone in for a display repair at a shop in the Pollack Market shopping complex on Main Street, Pettah, on August 30. The shop charged Rs. 16,000 and returned the phone.
He came back the following day saying the repair had not been done properly. During the argument he began filming the shop on his mobile phone, and the shop owner allegedly took that phone from him and kept it.
On September 20 the customer returned carrying a sword, allegedly damaged property while demanding the return of his phone and a refund of the repair fee, and then left the scene by car.
The arrest
Pettah Police reported the facts to the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court and opened an investigation. Officers traced the registered owner of the vehicle used to leave the scene and arrested the main suspect on September 23 — a 44-year-old resident of Koswatta, Battaramulla.
The vehicle has been taken into custody. Police are still trying to recover the sword said to have been used.
Police said their preliminary investigation indicated the incident was tied to the repair dispute and was not an organised extortion.
Note on sourcing
This account rests on a single outlet. LankaNewz checked Ada Derana, NewsFirst, Hiru News, Colombo Gazette, Daily News and The Island for independent reporting of the same incident and found none; the Daily Mirror appears to be the only verified newsroom carrying it.
Not reported
The report does not say when the video began circulating or how widely, whether the shop owner faces any action over allegedly retaining the customer’s phone, what charges the arrested man faces, or whether he has been produced before court or granted bail. It gives no estimate of the property damage.
