Former Sri Lankan Ambassador to the United States, Jaliya Wickramasuriya, who was arrested on charges of misusing state funds, has been granted permission to admit to a private hospital under the prison protection, today.

He was brought to the court premises in an ambulance by Prison authorities.

High Court judge Nissanka Bandula Karunaratne, considering physical condition of the suspect allowed the request by his lawyers to transfer him from national hospital to a private hospital.

Wickramasuriya has been charged with allegedly accepting a commission of US$ 332,000 following a contract awarded to refurbish the Sri Lankan Embassy in Washington DC while serving as the Ambassador to the US, under the previous government.