Colombo Additional Magistrate Harshana Kekunawela has ordered the arrest of the doctor who performed kidney surgery on a three-year-old child at the Lady Ridgeway Hospital, should the ongoing police investigation uncover evidence of a crime.
The magistrate instructed Police that the doctor, who was initially named as a witness, should be listed as a suspect and produced before the court, if the death of the child is determined to be a crime, Lankadeepa newspaper reported.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) informed court that the surgeon concerned, Dr. Naveen Wijekoon, had left the country evading the testimony in the post-mortem investigation. The magistrate issued the order after considering the facts presented by the Police.
The incident involves a two-year-old child from Kotahena, who underwent surgery on December 22, 2022, to remove his non-functioning left kidney.
Six months later, the child passed away after her right kidney had also failed.
The case was taken up on Tuesday (8) when Dr. Wijekoon was expected to testify via Skype from Australia.
However the CID informed court that the surgeon has not responded to any summons and appeared to be avoiding his obligation to testify. (Newswire)