Colombo's Chief JMO retires

Colombo's Chief Judicial Medical Officer for the past fifteen years, Dr. L. B. L. De Alwis retires today after almost 35 years of distinguished public service.

Dr. Lucian Bernard Lalantha de Alwis graduated from the Colombo Medical College in 1972 and served in Talampitiya in the Kurunegala district and at Homagama before being appointed the Judicial Medical Officer at the then Ragama General Hospital in 1975.

Appointed to the Judicial Medical Office in Colombo in 1980, he was subsequently appointed Chief Consultant Judicial Medical Officer in 1992. He is the longest serving Chief Consultant Judicial Medical Officer.

Dr. Alwis rendered invaluable service to the development of Forensic Medicine and Forensic Pathology as a specialty in the country, being instrumental in founding the College of Forensic Pathologists of Sri Lanka in 2000 and serving as its founder President. Dr. Alwis has conducted around 11,000 post-mortems examinations which include nearly 2000 murders and also those of a President, Presidential candidate, other Ministers, Members of Parliament, politicians and other persons of eminence.

Dr. Alwis has been the chief medico-legal investigator in all mass disasters that occurred in Colombo following bomb explosions since 1992.

As a Visiting lecturer and External Examiner in Forensic Medicine his services were utilised by the Universities of Colombo, Peradeniya, Ruhuna, Jaffna, Kelaniya and Sri Jayewardenepura and the Sri Lanka Medical Council which appointed him as Co-ordinator and Chief Examiner in Forensic Medicine for the ERPM examination for foreign graduates.

Dr. Alwis was also Chairman, Board of Study in Forensic Medicine and Chief Examiner in Forensic Medicine of the Postgraduate Institute of Medicine, University of Colombo from 2000 to 2006.

Over the years the comprehensive books on Forensic Medicine and Toxicology written by him became the standard textbook for the postgraduate trainees in Forensic Medicine. However, true to his nature he had no intention of making profits on the books and they were sold at only the printing cost.

Dr. L. B. L. De Alwis is greatly respected not only by those in his own profession but also in the other professions he comes into contact with. With his retirement, he leaves a void that would be hard to fill. Dr. Jean M. Perera, Past President, College of Forensic Pathologists of Sri Lanka on behalf of the College of Forensic Pathologists of Sri Lanka