News

Liquor sticker scam: Company licences to be cancelled

Published

3 weeks ago

September 3, 2023

editor

The Finance Ministry has recommended that measures be taken to stem corruption among excise officers and that companies involved in the liquor bottle security sticker scam be imposed heavy fines and have their liquor licences cancelled.

The recommendations are included in a report the Ministry has submitted to President Ranil Wickremesinghe regarding corrupt practices in the local liquor trade, a senior Finance Ministry official told the Sunday Times.

The Ministry has also recommended that orders be issued to liquor producers that they should install CCTV systems inside their factories, with the systems being connected to the Excise Department so the production process could be monitored.

Given the accusations that some excise officers are also involved in the scam, excise officers deployed as inspectors to any manufacturing plants where liquor bottles with fake security stickers have been produced must be transferred immediately, the Finance Ministry has recommended. As an additional measure, all excise officers deployed to liquor manufacturing plants as inspectors should be rotated every six months.

Another recommendation is to call for a report regarding liquor licence holders who possess multiple permits for the same area, allowing them to sell liquor at several locations in close proximity.

A copy of the Finance Ministry’s report has also been forwarded to Parliament’s Ways and Means Committee, chaired by Parliamentarian Patali Champika Ranawaka. The Committee, too, has been probing the fake security sticker scam.

Meanwhile, as of Friday, the Excise Department had seized about 48,000 liquor bottles suspected to contain fake security stickers, Excise Commissioner Kapila Kumarasinghe said.

He said the Excise Department was also compiling a detailed report containing information such as how many bottles with fake security stickers had been recovered from the market, the estimated tax loss suffered by the state, the companies involved, and the persons responsible. The report will be submitted to Parliament, the Finance Ministry, and the Presidential Secretariat.

In addition to confiscating the bottles with fake stickers, the Excise Department was planning to impose a tax on the companies involved, depending on the number of bottles found with fake security stickers, Mr. Kumarasinghe said.

(sundaytimes.lk)

News

Number of rabies deaths on the rise

Published

2 hours ago

September 21, 2023

editor

The Ministry of Health said that the number of people who have died from rabies has increased in the last few years.

Dr. Heshan Guruge, medical officer of the Anti-Rabies Division, said that the lack of knowledge about rabies as well as the bites of animals other than dogs have led to the increase in these deaths.

Dr. Guruge expressed these views while attending a discussion held yesterday (20) at the Health Promotion Bureau in conjunction with the World Rabies Day on September 28.

“When studying the human deaths that happened in the last few years due to rabies, we can see that a number of animals other than dogs have bit them. In some cases, it is not even possible to know who the animal is. Several people who had passed out after being drunk had been bitten by some animal. After a few days, the symptoms of rabies develop. Several such incidents were reported in the last two or three years. Proper first aid should be given in case of any animal bite. Wash the wound with soap and water. If you have alcohol at home, an iodine solution like betadine, surgical spirit, or an antiseptic liquid like hydrogen peroxide, you can use it. Then go to a hospital. If we do this, we can eliminate rabies from Sri Lanka,” he said.

Don’t get closer to new pets for two weeks

Meanwhile, Dr. Athula Liyanapathirana, community specialist of the Epidemiology Unit, said that 12 people have died due to rabies in 2023 so far.

He said that there is a risk of contracting rabies from the bites of all mammals.

The Anti-rabies Unit said that 25 to 30 people die from rabies every year.

The Epidemiology Unit requested the people not to get closer to pets such as dogs and cats for 14 days after bringing them home.

Arrangements should be made to vaccine the dogs against rabies before a period of four weeks has passed.

When bitten by a dog, the area should be washed and cleaned with soap for ten minutes, and after that it is important to seek medical treatment immediately.