Fake cancer drugs and hydra-headed problem

The Attorney General's Department has filed indictments, before a three-judge bench of the Colombo High Court, against former Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella and 11 others over the procurement of fake human immunoglobulin, etc.

- 

The charges include a conspiracy to misappropriate state funds amounting to Rs. 144.4 million by procuring 6,195 phials of substances falsely labelled as human immunoglobulin and Rituximab for the Medical Supplies Division of the Ministry of Health. Unfortunately, cancer patients were given these fake drugs, and those involved in the procurement racket lined up their pockets during the country's worst-ever economic crisis and the resultant hardships that sent the public reeling. The daughter of a popular artiste who underwent cancer treatment in a state-run hospital has posted, on social media, a very moving letter addressed to those responsible for procuring fake drugs and endangering the lives of cancer patients; she has asked how they brought themselves to commit such a grave sin. Her letter has struck a sympathetic chord with the public. There must be thousands of other victims like her father. The procurement scandal has shaken the conscience of the nation.