As part of the ongoing civil war in Sri Lanka, Serendib's farm, employing a large number of local workers, was attacked and destroyed.

The STF gathered up the farm employees, checked their identity cards and herded them onto a semi-trailer; they were taken to a road junction and shot dead.

[7] The relatives of the victims alleged that STF personnel invaded a house near the farm, warning the residents not to speak about the massacre or report it to anyone.

[2][8] The government denied the massacre at the farm but the Managing Director of Serendib Seafoods Limited, Victor Santhiapillai, who was a former Executive Director of the International Trade Centre (a United Nations body), together with a consultant to the company, Bruce Cyr (an American national) rebutted the government's denial and confirmed that the massacre did in fact take place.

"[7] AAPL, as a Hong Kong company, was covered by the Sri Lanka-United Kingdom Bilateral Investment Treaty and filed for arbitration by ICSID, an arm of the World Bank, with the aim of providing compensation to the families of the murdered employees as well as reimbursement to its investors.