Daily Times

Singapore has given former Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa permission to stay in the island nation for an additional 14 days. A short-term visit pass given to Rajapaksa when he arrived on a private visit two weeks ago has been extended, according to two different sources in Singapore and Colombo who both had knowledge of the situation.

Rajapaksa can now remain in Singapore until August 11.

An inquiry for confirmation regarding the extension of stay was not answered by Singapore’s Immigration and Checkpoints Authority.

On July 14, Rajapaksa arrived in Singapore, having fled his troubled nation via the Maldives the day before due to a popular uprising that compelled him to step down as president.

The Singaporean government claimed he was there on a private visit and had not received asylum.

“It is my belief he may eventually consider returning to Sri Lanka but there is no definite political or other stance on this,” Sri Lankan government spokesperson Bandula Gunwardena said on Tuesday.

Rajapaksa left the nation and resigned, and six-time prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was elected president after winning a parliamentary vote.

The 22 million-person nation has been crippled by a terrible economic crisis for months, leading to shortages of food, fuel, and other essentials as foreign exchange reserves needed for imports of these items fell to record lows.