COLOMBO ; Dr. Maheshi Surasinghe Wijerathna, a neurosurgeon currently held in remand custody over allegations of selling neurosurgical equipment at inflated prices through a private company, has been accused of importing questionable medical devices for use in surgeries on patients who were already brain-dead.
The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption informed the court on Tuesday, that these devices were used in procedures on patients who did not medically require them.
Assistant Director of Legal Affairs at the Commission, Sulochana Hettiarachchi, stated that it has been revealed that surgeries were performed using these neurosurgical instruments even when there was no clinical necessity.
Dr. Maheshi Surasinghe Wijerathna, a specialist neurosurgeon at Sri Jayewardenepura Hospital, along with two others, was presented before the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court on Tuesdayy in connection with allegations of selling neurosurgical equipment—specifically EVD and VP shunts—at inflated prices through a privately owned company, despite the availability of lower-cost alternatives.
The other two suspects currently held in remand custody are Kakulanda Liyanage Indika, the hospital’s chief clerk, and Nimal Ranjith Muthukuda, an employee of Dr. Wijerathna’s private company.
During the hearing before Colombo Chief Magistrate Tanuja Lakmali Jayatunga, Sulochana Hettiarachchi, the Director of Legal Affairs at the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption, presented further findings uncovered during the investigation.
“There is a prescribed procedure for obtaining medical equipment. Typically, relevant medical professionals include the required items in the hospital’s annual procurement estimate, and the hospital acquires them accordingly. However, in this case, the primary suspect did not follow that process. Instead, she directed patients admitted to her ward to the the third suspect, a hospital clerk. Following her instructions, the clerk provided the contact number of the second suspect to the patients’ families, instructing them to coordinate with him to obtain the equipment. The second suspect then purchased the devices from a company named Ema Pharma for approximately Rs. 55,000 and delivered them to MNN Medicals, a private company owned by the primary suspect. The equipment was subsequently sold to the patients for Rs. 175,000,” said Sulochana Hettiarachchi – Director of Legal Affairs, Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption.
The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption revealed that the suspect neurosurgeon performed surgeries using specialized medical equipment on patients who were either brain-dead or did not medically require such procedures. News First
