Sri Lanka, Sept. 10 -- Lebanese President Michel Aoun has come under fire after it emerged that tea donated by Sri Lanka for victims of the Beirut blast was distributed instead to families of his Presidential Guard.

The Lebanese President's Office on August 24 released a picture of Aoun receiving the Sri Lankan ambassador, and quoted the Ambassador as saying Colombo had "donated 1,675 kilos (3,685 pounds) of Ceylon Tea to those affected by the Beirut blast". Social media has since erupted in criticism, with the hashtags "tea thief" and "Ceylon tea" trending on Twitter.

The Lebanese National News Agency yesterday released a clarification on the matter stating that "the news of the distribution of a quantity of Ceylon Tea to the families ...