Sri Lankan monk slammed for Mercedes

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COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - The tale of the Buddhist monk and his shiny, new Mercedes-Benz has fueled a bizarre national drama that has angered Sri Lankans and tainted a group of revered religious leaders with corruption.
The monk - leader of a hawkish Buddhist party in the governing coalition - insists the scandal is a fiction created by political rivals to smear him with accusations he illegally sold the car at a huge profit.
Shrugging off the monk's renunciation of material goods, his comrades have insisted the silver, E-class Mercedes remained his - even as his bitter political enemy was seen driving it around town.
"They (the monks' party) came into politics promising to set new standards for the political mainstream, but see what they are doing today. This is unacceptable," opposition lawmaker Gayantha Karunathilake said Monday.
The roots of the scandal lie in a special perk for lawmakers that allows them to import cars without paying the country's massive duties, which often double or triple the cost of a vehicle.