The Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Health Mr. Saman Ratnayake stated before the court today (02) that he is ready to confess in front of the magistrate regarding the antibody injection fraud in question.Sri Lanka Latest News
He said this when he was produced in the Maligakanda Magistrate’s Court this morning after being arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department yesterday (01).
The Criminal Investigation Department took a nine-hour statement yesterday from Mr. Saman Ratnayake, Additional Secretary of the Medical Products and Supply Regulation Division of the Ministry of Health, and arrested him at around 8.30 pm.
The suspect was produced before Maligakanda Magistrate’s Court at 11 am today.
The Deputy Solicitor General of the Government Miss Lakmini Girihagama presented facts regarding the arrest of the suspect.
“Sir, this dose of Human Immunoglobulin vaccine is the highest paid dose of vaccine from Sri Lanka treasury. 45,000 per dose. It is in such an environment that the other suspects have supported the first suspect in this case to misappropriate one billion rupees of government money. The rest of the suspects have helped the first suspect in the case, the owner of the pharmaceutical company, to create the necessary environment to make undue profits. Accordingly, Saman Ratnayake has been arrested for carrying out the emergency procurement process with dishonest intention along with the 8th suspect, former Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, by pretending to have a shortage of fake medicines. I request that he be named as the 10th suspect in this case.”
The Deputy Solicitor General of the Government explained the facts regarding the charges against the suspect.
“My lord, the former health minister Keheliya Rambukwella and the ministry secretary Janaka Sri Chandragupta have removed the additional secretary who had the authority in the drug procurement process and assigned his responsibilities to the suspect named Saman Ratnayake. Therefore, this substandard antibody injection, emergency procurement process has taken place under the full knowledge of this suspect. Even if it is a registered drug supplier, the procurement committee should check its status when supplying drugs for the first time. But it has been avoided here. Also, this suspect has neglected to appoint qualified doctors to the evaluation committee of the procurement process. Swamini has done this procurement process in relation to 229 medicines, except for 19 medicines in an environment where all the other medicines have been adequately supplied by the State Medicines Legal Corporation. Therefore, there is no shortage of these medicines at the national level. Also, a health ministry expenditure head cannot be used for procuring medicines under the Swamini India Loan Scheme. But this suspect has recommended to pay the money using the expenditure heading of the medical supply department.”
Also, “Sir, you remember the Cabinet paper presented to the Cabinet on 26.09.2022 by former Minister of Health Keheliya Rambukwella that pretending to have a shortage of fake medicines, if medicines are not supplied within 03 weeks, the health system may collapse. That cabinet paper was prepared by him. When he was questioned about it, he said that the relevant cabinet paper was made on the advice of the former health minister.
There, the magistrate questioned what position this suspect holds regarding the original file containing the documents that were used to prepare the relevant cabinet paper.
The Deputy Solicitor General of the Government said:
“Swami, he says that the relevant original file has been forwarded to the Ministry Coordinating Office. But the ministry coordination office says that the relevant original file is in the department under him.”
The magistrate then questioned again who had prepared the supplier in question before the government agency and officials were involved in this conspiracy process.
The Deputy Solicitor General of the Government replied:
“Lord, the mastermind of this conspiracy must have known only the supplier. According to the facts that have been revealed in the investigations, one person out of a lakh has coordinated these officials and the supplier.”
Then Mr. Kanchana Ratwatte, the lawyer who appeared for the suspect, stated some special facts and requested that the client be released on bail.
However, the magistrate rejected the bail request and while preparing to remand the suspect for a period of 14 days, the suspect in the dock stated that he should make a statement before the court.
The magistrate responded as follows.
“If you need to make a statement before the court, there are legal provisions for that. You can do what you need to declare in front of the magistrate in secret. The statement you make can be used against you before the court. And based on that statement, you will be treated as a suspect or you will be made a witness in this case. So think carefully and make a decision about it.”
There the suspect Mr. Saman Ratnayake said that he was ready to make a statement before the magistrate.
Accordingly, the magistrate announced her order.
“The suspect expresses his willingness to make a confession. It can be given before me next Monday. Until then, I order that this suspect be detained separately from the other suspects in this case.”
Accordingly, the magistrate who ordered the remand of the suspect Mr. Saman Ratnayake until next Monday informed the prison officials to detain him in Mahara Prison.
Prison officials first took the suspect to Welikada prison and registered him there, and then took him to Mahara prison.
Accordingly, 08 suspects, including former Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, former Secretary of the Ministry of Health Janaka Sri Chandragupta, have been remanded in relation to the case of substandard doses of human immunoglobulin injections.
