ICU Selfies and Suspicious Reports: Ranil Wickremesinghe’s Bail Sparks Judicial Scrutiny

COLOMBO (News 1st); Fort Magistrate Isuru Neththikumara instructed that separate statements be obtained regarding the medical recommendations provided by six doctors, which led to bail being granted to former President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is accused of using over Rs. 16 million in public funds for a private overseas trip.

This directive was issued in response to a request made by Additional Solicitor General Dileepa Peiris, who asked that the relevant medical reports be re-examined by a three-member medical board, which includes the Colombo Judicial Medical Officer.

Additional Solicitor General Dileepa Peiris pointed out that there are serious doubts regarding the accuracy of the medical reports submitted in support of granting bail to former President Ranil Wickremesinghe.

“Your Honour, this suspect is not only accused of misappropriating public funds, but also of manipulating the judicial process itself. On a previous occasion, President’s Counsel Anuja Premaratne appeared on behalf of the suspect and submitted several medical reports in support of a bail application. It was claimed that the suspect was suffering from a condition involving the degeneration of heart tissue. However, the Magistrate did not issue any order to obtain a medical report regarding the suspect’s health while in remand custody. Despite this, Premaratne presented a medical report allegedly compiled by a six-member medical board including Dr. K.P.A. Wijesinghe, the Deputy Director of the National Hospital. How is it possible for the Deputy Director of the National Hospital to convene such a medical report without a court order? Can an ordinary patient obtain a report like this? No, Your Honour. This was done solely at the request of the suspect’s legal team. These medical reports were submitted directly to the court without even being presented to the complainant. How can the court accept a private medical report without proper examination or verification by a judicial medical officer? These reports are highly questionable, Your Honour.”

Additional Solicitor General Dileepa Peiris raised concerns about the conduct of former President Ranil Wickremesinghe while receiving treatment in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), describing it as questionable.

“Your Honour, the suspect, while supposedly receiving treatment in the ICU, was reading a book by Boris Johnson. What kind of ICU allows patients to read books like that? The ICU is meant for patients in critical condition. This suspect didn’t even spend a full hour in remand custody before being transferred to the National Hospital’s ICU, claiming severe health issues. But from what I’ve seen, patients in the ICU are usually transported on trolleys with medical reports placed on their chests. I’ve never heard of someone receiving ICU treatment and then directly being allowed to leave. Normally, patients are moved to another ward after ICU treatment, and only then do they make necessary arrangements to be discharged. But this suspect received treatment in the ICU and then left straight from there. And he didn’t leave quietly either. He posed for selfies with doctors, smiling. These weren’t candid photos; they were deliberately posed. It was only after seeing these photos that I realized even photo shoots are possible inside the ICU. A narrative was created that the suspect was critically ill, just to secure bail. The judicial process was manipulated and distorted to obtain bail. Your Honour, these medical reports are highly suspicious. They must be reviewed by a qualified three-member medical board, including a judicial medical officer. A proper, formal medical report must be summoned.”

President’s Counsel Tilak Marapana, appearing on behalf of the suspect, stated that his client had undertaken an official visit based on a formal letter of invitation, and that the arrest was made without the complainant conducting a proper inquiry into the matter.

“Your Honour, my client undertook this journey in response to an official invitation. The complainant arrested him without conducting a proper investigation into the nature of the visit. On the day of the arrest, my client didn’t even get a chance to eat. He was in court for nearly 10 hours. He suffers from a heart condition, which is why he had to be admitted to the Intensive Care Unit.”

At this point, the Magistrate raised a question:

“But on the previous hearing date, it was stated that the suspect was suffering from multiple health conditions.”

Responding to this, Mr. Marapana said:

“Yes, Your Honour. But he was hospitalized due to the conditions that arose on the day of the hearing. Because of his heart condition, he had to be admitted to the ICU.”

Marapana further stated that although former President Ranil Wickremesinghe has several blockages in his heart, blood is being rerouted through alternate pathways.

“Your Honour, my client has several blockages in his heart and is receiving treatment for a cardiac condition. Medical investigations conducted in Singapore revealed that although there are blockages, blood is flowing through alternate routes around the obstructed areas.”

At this point, the Magistrate posed a question:

“Was this discovered after bail was granted?”

Responding to the question, Marapana said Ranil Wickremesinghe has been receiving treatment for heart disease since 2017. These findings were revealed during medical examinations conducted during that period.

After considering the submissions, the Magistrate ordered that the case be recalled on January 28 at 2:00 PM.

Investigating officers were instructed to complete their inquiries and present their findings to the court by that date.

“After considering the facts related to the suspect’s bail, it is clear that the presiding Magistrate issued the order based on satisfaction with the documents presented. Therefore, the bail order will not be reconsidered at this stage. However, I instruct that statements be obtained from the six doctors who provided the medical recommendations in the submitted reports. If those reports are found to be accurate, the bail order will remain unchanged. Furthermore, this is not a complex investigation. The key issue is whether the suspect received an official invitation for the overseas visit. The relevant institutions must be contacted to verify this. Once that is confirmed, the investigation can be concluded based on that finding. The final decision in this case will depend on that verification. Therefore, I instruct the investigating officers to complete their inquiries and present their findings to the court on the next hearing date.”

The case was ordered to be recalled on January 28 at 2:00 PM.

Magistrate Isuru Neththikumara, inquired about the position of the complainant regarding former Presidential Secretary Saman Ekanayake, whose name was mentioned in the B Report.

Responding to the inquiry, Deputy Solicitor General Vasantha Perera stated that the stance on Ekanayake would be presented to the court upon the conclusion of the full investigation.