TOKYO —The bereaved kin of a Sri Lankan woman who died while detained in a Nagoya immigration facility in 2021 despite her pleas for medical treatment have expressed their dismay over recent news that a female doctor at the Osaka Regional Immigration Services Bureau is suspected of having worked under the influence of alcohol.
Speaking at a news conference in Tokyo on the evening of 04 June, the family of Sri Lankan woman Wishma Sandamali, who died in March 2021 at the age of 33, protested that unless the medical system for immigration facilities is improved, the same thing could happen again.

The Osaka doctor worked full time at the immigration facility. Alcohol was detected on her breath on 20 January this year. She has since been removed from medical examination work. Information about the doctor was conveyed to the Immigration Services Agency of Japan in January, but not reported to the Diet, where deliberations are underway on an amendment to the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act that would strengthen measures to deport foreign nationals without a valid status of residence.

Participating in the June 4 news conference were Wishma’s sisters Wayomi and Poornima. Wayomi, 30, criticized the stance of immigration authorities, saying, “My older sister died because a medical system was not properly established (at the detention facility). It’s so wrong that an incident like this can happen in spite of that. Without a proper medical system in place, I think it will be a matter of course for more people to fall victim like my sister.”

Poornima, 28, added, “It is only recently that the information (about the Osaka case) came to light, and the immigration agency had been hiding the information. I think this may be because they haven’t accepted responsibility for my sister’s death.” (Japanese original by Yukinao Kin, Digital News Group)