Former First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa was further remanded until October 16 by the Colombo Magistrate’s Court on October 13, after a hospital report disclosed that no open-heart surgery had been performed or planned, contrary to submissions made by her counsel.
Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama considered the report from the National Hospital of Sri Lanka before declining to grant bail at this stage in the case concerning alleged financial irregularities involving the Siriliya Saviya account.
Rajapaksa remained hospitalized at the National Hospital’s cardiology unit, where she had been admitted on October 12 on the recommendation of prison medical officers.
When the case was taken up in the morning, President’s Counsel Anil Silva, appearing for Rajapaksa, sought bail on medical grounds, stating that three blood vessels supplying her heart were blocked.
He initially told the court that his client was undergoing open-heart surgery at that very moment.
“This is a bail application unlike any I have made during my legal career. We previously informed the court that my client was a heart patient and sought bail, but bail was not granted,” Silva said. He urged the court to consider the claimed surgery an exceptional circumstance warranting her release.
Additional Solicitor General Dileep Peiris, appearing for the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC), acknowledged that Rajapaksa had been hospitalized but said investigators had received no official notification that she was undergoing surgery.
He requested that the court establish the medical position before considering the application.
Responding to those submissions, Silva asked: “What is being said here? That she should remain in remand even if she dies?”
The Chief Magistrate urged counsel to remain calm, stating that raised voices made it difficult for him to record the submissions.
Silva subsequently amended his statement, saying Rajapaksa was scheduled to undergo open-heart surgery rather than undergoing the procedure at that moment.
The Chief Magistrate directed prison officials to obtain a definitive report from the National Hospital and adjourned proceedings until 2 p.m.
When the case resumed, the Magistrate read out a summary of the three-page report issued by the hospital’s director.
“Although counsel appearing for the suspect stated that she was undergoing open-heart surgery, the contents of this report do not disclose that such surgery has been performed or planned. Only an angiogram has been performed,” he said.
Peiris submitted that the report did not establish the exceptional circumstances cited by the defence in seeking bail.
Silva acknowledged that his initial statement about surgery being underway had been a mistake, which he had subsequently corrected. He nevertheless maintained that Rajapaksa had a heart condition and sought her release, arguing that bail had been granted in cases involving less serious illnesses.
Delivering his order, the Chief Magistrate noted that the report identified a risk if Rajapaksa did not receive treatment and confirmed that a medical board was treating her.
“The court does not require the suspect to be kept inside the prison. However, this report also states that she cannot be moved about outside the hospital,” he said.
The Magistrate added that the medical board was expected to decide on further treatment that afternoon and said he would not make an order granting bail at that stage. He directed the prison superintendent to submit a further progress report on her health at the next hearing.
During the morning proceedings, Peiris also presented further findings from the investigation, appearing alongside CIABOC Assistant Director of Legal Affairs, attorney Yashmada Lokunarangoda.
He told the court that statements obtained from two former directors of the Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children indicated that the hospital had not requested a CT or MRI scanner at the time of the transaction under investigation. The hospital already had a CT scanner, he said.
Despite this, Peiris alleged that Rajapaksa had written to the National Savings Bank on December 8, 2010, in her capacity as First Lady, seeking funds to purchase a CT scanner for the hospital.
The amount initially sought was Rs. 140 million, which was subsequently reduced to Rs. 50 million, he said.
Peiris alleged that, with the assistance of the bank’s then Chairman Pradeep Kariyawasam, the first suspect in the case, the bank had agreed to provide Rs. 10 million. That money had been credited to the Siriliya Saviya account.
He further told the court that an MRI scanner donated to Sri Lanka by the Chinese Government in 2014 had subsequently been presented to the children’s hospital as a donation from Siriliya Saviya.
According to his submissions, the presentation took place on the birthday of one of Rajapaksa’s sons, and Kariyawasam had been invited to the event.
However, Peiris said, the Rs. 10 million under investigation had remained in the Siriliya Saviya account throughout these developments.
He also told the court that the organization had initially been established in 2006 under the name “Shiranthi Navodaya” and renamed “Siriliya Saviya” three months later.
Peiris alleged that it had not been formally registered under the Defence Ministry and had not officially submitted any reports.
He further questioned the use of the State emblem and the Presidential Secretariat’s address on letterheads used by Rajapaksa to solicit funds, asking what legal basis permitted someone who did not hold a government position to use them.
Describing Siriliya Saviya as an alleged mechanism for money laundering, Peiris opposed bail on the grounds that further investigations were underway. (Courtesy: News 19)
