The Chinese management accused Sri Lankan HIPG staffers of involvement and subsequently dismissed Chief Operating Officer Tissa Wickremasinghe and several others.

CEO of HIPG Johnson Liu sacked Wickremesinghe, Accountant Sasika Madushanka and Documentation Centre Supervisor Ajantha Ravinath without conducting an impartial inquiry at the beginning of the investigation.

They filed a complaint to CM Port, also known as China Merchants Port Group Co. Ltd. in China, detailing CEO Liu’s alleged harassment and abusive behaviour, which they claim often occurs while he is intoxicated.

The Sri Lankan staffers claimed that the Chinese are managing the accounts of HIPG, as the port operations are handled by the Chinese for the next 99 years under a lease agreement and they take instructions from the top Chinese officials at the HIPG