… approved payments to supplier on priority basis

Maligakanda Magistrate Lochana Abeywickrema Weerasinghe said in open Court on Wednesday (13) that the matters already before Court showed the alleged involvement of persons in high positions in the procurement of alleged substandard medicines, The Magistrate ordered the CID investigating the case to immediately arrest and produce all suspects before Court regardless of their standing in the society.

The Magistrate observed that though the requirement for the Cabinet approved emergency purchases was to import from India on credit and supply the medicines, those responsible for the procurement process had selected the suspect tenderer though he specified in his tender documents that raw materials would be imported from India and produced by his company here.

The Magistrate said the whole process appeared to have been manipulated by two or three persons in high positions. The then Secretary had control over these matters and the investigations disclose a questionable and suspicious role in many actions by him. All suspects must be brought before Court, the Magistrate ordered.

The government recently removed Health Secretary Janaka Chandragupta.Deputy Solicitor General Lakmini Girihagama appearing with Senior State Counsel Heshani Wijesinghe making submissions earlier on the progress of the CID investigations said that prior to the Cabinet decision in October 2022, tenders had been called for in September 2022 and the 1st suspect had been selected as the successful tenderer for Human Immunoglobulin and Rituximab.

The DSG said, according to the Chief Accountant Savidra Cooray, the 1st suspect’s company Isolez Biotech Pharma had requested for payments for Rituximab supplied and the Secretary Health had approved the payment of Rs 107,799,481/= in three payments to the first suspect, directing it to be paid on a priority basis.

M.M. Zuhair PC appearing with Anjana Ratnasiri, Duleeka Imbuldeniya and Rizwan Uvais for the 2nd suspect Dr. Kapila Wickramanayake, submitted that the 2nd suspect hadn’t been the Director, Medical Supplies Division, as he was away on a one year assignment in the United Kingdom, from January to December 2022, during which period in 2022 the Health Sector Emergency Procurement Committee (HSEPC), chaired by the Health Secretary and the Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC), were set up and the entire process of calling for tenders, evaluation and selection of the successful tenderers were completed. According to the then Health Secretary’s letter dated 28th October 2022, to the Deputy Director General of Health, the successful tenderers have already been informed of their selection by that time.

After Dr. Wickramanayake returned to Sri Lanka and assumed duties as Director MSD, the penalty payable by the 1st suspect for delayed supply of the pharmaceuticals was recommended by the 3rd and the 2nd suspects for recovery from the 1st suspect. However, the recommended penalty was ordered to be waived by the Secretary Health and was not recovered from the 1st suspect, the supplier of the disputed pharmaceuticals, Counsel submitted.

Nalinda Indatissa PC, appearing for the aggrieved party, said that the Cabinet was aware that these drugs were going to be manufactured in Sri Lanka when approval for emergency purchase was granted by the then Minister of Health.

Ronald Perera PC, appearing for the 4th suspect, said that the MSD officer may have accepted the deliveries without suspecting the alleged forged copy of waiver of registration, that may be due to oversight or negligence as there is no evidence of any complicity with the 1st suspect at the warehouse delivery point but those do not amount to any criminal offence.

In respect of the 1st, 3rd and 5th suspects Attorneys Navin Shanaka, Asoka Serasinghe and a team of several lawyers appeared for them and moved for bail. The Magistrate said a detailed order on the bail applications will be made by her on 27th December.