Apeksha hospital pharmacist arrested, large stock of medicine recovered from his home

Acting on a complaint, the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) yesterday (16) arrested a pharmacist attached to Apeksha hospital, Maharagama.

The arrest was made outside the hospital as the pharmacist sold a cancer drug for Rs 21,000. After initial questioning, the suspect led the CIABOC team to his residence, where a large stock of medicines issued by Government Medical Supplies Division (MSD) and medicine received from donors were found.

A senior CIABOC official told The Island that the racket had been going on for some time and the suspect’s wife, too, served as a pharmacist at the same hospital.

The official said that they were trying to ascertain whether other hospital employees were involved in pilfering medicines. According to him, the suspect in custody had taken advantage of unavailability of many cancer drugs in the market. “We recovered a sizeable stock of medicines from his home. Money received from those who bought medicines were found in empty medicine boxes,” the official said.The suspect was to be produced in court yesterday (16). (SF)