Austin News

Austin philanthropist and entrepreneur Dilum Chandrasoma is scheduled to have a pretrial hearing in a Travis County court Friday on a misdemeanor charge of assaulting his son and wife.

According to a police report, the alleged assault occurred July 21, 2019, after Chandrasoma, former president of the Mitte Foundation, was confronted by his son about talking to other women on his mobile phone.

Chandrasoma, described in the police report as “heavily intoxicated,” allegedly began hitting the son. His wife allegedly stepped in between them and fell to the floor. Chandrasoma then began “hitting her on the side of the head,” the report said.

When his wife stood up, Chandrasoma allegedly pushed her back to the floor then went into the bedroom and broke off  “a large baseball-sized post from their bed,” but did not strike his wife with it, the report said.

The police officer who responded observed an abrasion on the wife’s forearm.

Chandrasoma, now 55, was arrested and taken to the Travis County jail and charged with assault. His wife refused to file an emergency protective order, the police report said.

Chandrasoma had purchased Hudson’s Hill Country restaurant in 2018, the Austin American-Statesman reported. 

The Mitte Foundation offers scholarships to high school graduates attending a two- or four-year college or university in Texas, according to its website. It also offers grants for community improvement projects.

The foundation is currently locked in a legal battle with real estate partnerships over allegations of a conspiracy relating to assets.