Eye Hospital chief: Who’s pulling wool over patients’ eyes?

Colombo Eye Hospital Director Dr Dhammika Alahapperuma has asked the police to deploy personnel in civvies to detect unscrupulous people playing out unsuspecting patients who call over for treatment.

The request followed a recent incident where two elderly women were robbed at the hospital.

The women had lodged a complaint with the hospital administration on how they were relieved of their gold jewellery

A man who approached the two women had told them that they could be helped by a known doctor to expedite the treatment process, but that they needed to be seen as poor folk. He had got them to remove their gold earrings, wrap them in a piece of paper and keep it with them.

However, the two women had later realized that the man had duped them by replacing the gold items with small stones before getting away,

Dr Alahapperuma said they were checking CCTV footage to trace the suspect.