By Maheesha Mudugamuwa
Controversy surrounds the arrest of Dr. Siyabdeen Mohamed Safi, who was attached to the Kurunegala Hospital over suspicions over the accumulation of large sums of money.
According to the Police Media Division, Dr. Safi was arrested on 24 May by the Kurunegala Police after information was received against him pertaining to accusations that he accumulated assets in a suspicious manner and alleged connections to terrorist activities.
However, he is also now being investigated over allegations that he had performed sterilisation procedures on several women during caesarean operations without their knowledge.
Questions have now been raised over the arrest and the charges filed against him.
Speaking to The Sunday Morning, a senior police officer who wished to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the ongoing investigations, explained that Dr. Safi had been arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and emergency regulations as there were reasonable suspicions over the manner in which he had accumulated assets, and in parallel, complaints lodged against him on illegal sterilisations.
Highlighting Section 32 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CCP) Act No. 15 of 1979, which governs the peace officers arresting a person without a warrant, the senior police officer noted that Dr. Safi had been arrested according to the provisions in the CCP.
Following the initial investigations conducted by the Kurunegala Police, Dr. Safi was handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which is currently conducting the investigation.
When asked about the progress of the ongoing investigations, a senior police officer of the Department of Police said that it was too early to reach any conclusion as they had not yet completed the investigation.
“We are inquiring into all allegations including the illegal sterilisation,” he said, adding that all allegations should be proven with evidence to consider him a culprit.
The Police said the doctor was initially arrested for suspiciously amassing assets worth Rs. 400 million, and will be questioned to determine whether the money was obtained from an extremist or terrorist group. Seventeen land deeds which confirmed the doctor’s ownership of lands around Kurunegala District were seized.
Investigations and complaints
Soon after the arrest, Kurunegala Teaching Hospital Director Dr. A.M.S. Weerabandara said an internal investigation was being conducted against the doctor to determine whether there had been misconduct by the medical officer when performing caesarean operations.
Weerabandara stated that the Police had informed him of the arrest of the medical officer and requested the hospital’s support in their investigations on alleged health-related issues linked to Dr. Safi.
According to the doctor, there had been a complaint from the public about a name change in a mother’s card, which is usually filled up when an expectant mother comes to the hospital for delivery. The complaint had been lodged with the hospital about three weeks before the doctor was arrested.
The hospital had concluded the investigation into the complaint and submitted the report to the Ministry of Health.
Last week, the Health Ministry appointed a six-member committee led by Health Ministry Director Dr. Anil Samaranayake to probe complaints lodged against the doctor.
Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist Dr. Lakshman Senanayake, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist Dr. U.D.P. Rathnasiri, Administrative Services Officer L.A. Basnayake, Consultant in Community Medicine Dr. Sanjeewa Godakandage, and Investigating Officer S.I. Gunawardena are other members of the select committee. On Thursday (30), the committee had submitted the report to the Secretary of the Ministry of Health.
The report comprises the recommendations on best approaches for the investigation. The committee submitted the report following the consideration of facts, the number of complaints lodged against the doctor in question, and the sensitive nature of the complaints.
So far, over 200 complaints had been lodged with the Kurunegala Police, the Department of Police revealed.
Minister of Health Dr. Rajitha Senaratne instructed the public to refrain from getting emotional over the matter; tests would prove without a doubt if the doctor is guilty or not. He also requested that the public not get agitated over the fact that he is Muslim.
In the wake of the arrest, Minister of Posts and Muslim Religious Affairs M.H.A. Haleem had requested the President to release Dr. Safi.
During the discussion, Haleem had told the President that the doctor could have accumulated several assets since him and his wife, who is also a doctor, were engaged in other businesses as well.
Meanwhile, questions were raised over the reinstatement of Dr. Safi after he contested the elections in 2015.
Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) General Secretary Dr. Naveen Soysa told The Sunday Morning that the committee appointed to look into the allegations against Dr. Safi had submitted an interim report.
Fact check
When asked whether there were complaints against any other doctors in the country, Dr. Soysa said that the committee had received several bits of information through telephone calls, which couldn’t be considered proper complaints as they were not submitted in writing.
Meanwhile, a senior officer of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) told The Sunday Morning that a Member of Parliament representing the Kurunegala District had lodged a complaint to the CIABOC against Dr. Safi over the acquisition of assets in a suspicious manner.
However, the complaint had been lodged by the said MP after the Police arrested the doctor, she said.
“When asked whether the Police can arrest a person over an assets issue, the CIABOC officer explained that both the Police and the Commission could investigate the matters related to assets, and the Police could arrest any person on reasonable suspicion,” she explained.
However, the CIABOC did not release the details of the person who lodged the complaint and the nature of the complaint as the information was confidential.
The Sunday Morning also contacted Sri Lanka College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (SLCOG) President Prof. Athula Kaluarachchi to ascertain whether such sterilisations, as allegedly conducted by Dr. Safi, were possible during a caesarean operation.
However, Prof. Kaluarachchi refrained from commenting on the issue, claiming that it was too controversial and sensitive at this time, especially since there was a separate investigation being conducted by the Ministry and law enforcement authorities.
Commenting on behalf of the Council of the Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA), SLMA President Dr. Anula Wijesundere stated that the SLMA was deeply concerned about the situation which had arisen following the allegations made against a medical professional from the Kurunegala Teaching Hospital.
The Association said that they expect the relevant authorities would conduct the investigations methodically and would complete it without delay, while requesting the medical professionals to refrain from making hasty and ill-considered statements until the true facts are established.
Controversy surrounds the arrest of Dr. Siyabdeen Mohamed Safi, who was attached to the Kurunegala Hospital over suspicions over the accumulation of large sums of money.
According to the Police Media Division, Dr. Safi was arrested on 24 May by the Kurunegala Police after information was received against him pertaining to accusations that he accumulated assets in a suspicious manner and alleged connections to terrorist activities.
However, he is also now being investigated over allegations that he had performed sterilisation procedures on several women during caesarean operations without their knowledge.
Questions have now been raised over the arrest and the charges filed against him.
Speaking to The Sunday Morning, a senior police officer who wished to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the ongoing investigations, explained that Dr. Safi had been arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and emergency regulations as there were reasonable suspicions over the manner in which he had accumulated assets, and in parallel, complaints lodged against him on illegal sterilisations.
Highlighting Section 32 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CCP) Act No. 15 of 1979, which governs the peace officers arresting a person without a warrant, the senior police officer noted that Dr. Safi had been arrested according to the provisions in the CCP.
Following the initial investigations conducted by the Kurunegala Police, Dr. Safi was handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which is currently conducting the investigation.
When asked about the progress of the ongoing investigations, a senior police officer of the Department of Police said that it was too early to reach any conclusion as they had not yet completed the investigation.
“We are inquiring into all allegations including the illegal sterilisation,” he said, adding that all allegations should be proven with evidence to consider him a culprit.
The Police said the doctor was initially arrested for suspiciously amassing assets worth Rs. 400 million, and will be questioned to determine whether the money was obtained from an extremist or terrorist group. Seventeen land deeds which confirmed the doctor’s ownership of lands around Kurunegala District were seized.
Investigations and complaints
Soon after the arrest, Kurunegala Teaching Hospital Director Dr. A.M.S. Weerabandara said an internal investigation was being conducted against the doctor to determine whether there had been misconduct by the medical officer when performing caesarean operations.
Weerabandara stated that the Police had informed him of the arrest of the medical officer and requested the hospital’s support in their investigations on alleged health-related issues linked to Dr. Safi.
According to the doctor, there had been a complaint from the public about a name change in a mother’s card, which is usually filled up when an expectant mother comes to the hospital for delivery. The complaint had been lodged with the hospital about three weeks before the doctor was arrested.
The hospital had concluded the investigation into the complaint and submitted the report to the Ministry of Health.
Last week, the Health Ministry appointed a six-member committee led by Health Ministry Director Dr. Anil Samaranayake to probe complaints lodged against the doctor.
Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist Dr. Lakshman Senanayake, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist Dr. U.D.P. Rathnasiri, Administrative Services Officer L.A. Basnayake, Consultant in Community Medicine Dr. Sanjeewa Godakandage, and Investigating Officer S.I. Gunawardena are other members of the select committee. On Thursday (30), the committee had submitted the report to the Secretary of the Ministry of Health.
The report comprises the recommendations on best approaches for the investigation. The committee submitted the report following the consideration of facts, the number of complaints lodged against the doctor in question, and the sensitive nature of the complaints.
So far, over 200 complaints had been lodged with the Kurunegala Police, the Department of Police revealed.
Minister of Health Dr. Rajitha Senaratne instructed the public to refrain from getting emotional over the matter; tests would prove without a doubt if the doctor is guilty or not. He also requested that the public not get agitated over the fact that he is Muslim.
In the wake of the arrest, Minister of Posts and Muslim Religious Affairs M.H.A. Haleem had requested the President to release Dr. Safi.
During the discussion, Haleem had told the President that the doctor could have accumulated several assets since him and his wife, who is also a doctor, were engaged in other businesses as well.
Meanwhile, questions were raised over the reinstatement of Dr. Safi after he contested the elections in 2015.
Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) General Secretary Dr. Naveen Soysa told The Sunday Morning that the committee appointed to look into the allegations against Dr. Safi had submitted an interim report.
Fact check
When asked whether there were complaints against any other doctors in the country, Dr. Soysa said that the committee had received several bits of information through telephone calls, which couldn’t be considered proper complaints as they were not submitted in writing.
Meanwhile, a senior officer of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) told The Sunday Morning that a Member of Parliament representing the Kurunegala District had lodged a complaint to the CIABOC against Dr. Safi over the acquisition of assets in a suspicious manner.
However, the complaint had been lodged by the said MP after the Police arrested the doctor, she said.
“When asked whether the Police can arrest a person over an assets issue, the CIABOC officer explained that both the Police and the Commission could investigate the matters related to assets, and the Police could arrest any person on reasonable suspicion,” she explained.
However, the CIABOC did not release the details of the person who lodged the complaint and the nature of the complaint as the information was confidential.
The Sunday Morning also contacted Sri Lanka College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (SLCOG) President Prof. Athula Kaluarachchi to ascertain whether such sterilisations, as allegedly conducted by Dr. Safi, were possible during a caesarean operation.
However, Prof. Kaluarachchi refrained from commenting on the issue, claiming that it was too controversial and sensitive at this time, especially since there was a separate investigation being conducted by the Ministry and law enforcement authorities.
Commenting on behalf of the Council of the Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA), SLMA President Dr. Anula Wijesundere stated that the SLMA was deeply concerned about the situation which had arisen following the allegations made against a medical professional from the Kurunegala Teaching Hospital.
The Association said that they expect the relevant authorities would conduct the investigations methodically and would complete it without delay, while requesting the medical professionals to refrain from making hasty and ill-considered statements until the true facts are established.