The woman who made news last month after doctors removed scores of nails and pins from her body upon her return from Saudi Arabia has been given a clean bill of mental health.
House maid L.P. Ariyawathie underwent three days of medical tests at the National Mental Hospital to evaluate her mental condition after Saudi officials alleged she was probably suffering from a mental disorder or concocting the story to extort compensation from her Arab employer.
Foreign Employment Bureau spokesman Mangala Randeniya said the medical reports had been sent to the Attorney General’s Department for legal advice and to the External Affairs ministry for follow-up action with the Saudi authorities.
He said Ms. Ariyawathie’s test reports showed that she had no mental disorders. “The doctors who examined the woman have given her a clean bill of mental health and now it’s up to the relevant authorities to take up the matter with Saudi officials,” Mr. Randeniya said adding that the bureau would take measures to obtain compensation for Ariyawathie.
Earlier a top medical academic warned that there was a possibility the woman who claimed that her Saudi employer had driven some 26 nails and pins into her body might be suffering from Maunchausen’s Syndrome that in medical terms would suggest the victim had herself inserted the pins.
Meanwhile, External Affairs Ministry officials said the Saudi authorities were yet to respond to the protest note lodged by Colombo on the issue when FEB chairman Kingsley Ranawaka visited Riyadh.
They said the ministry hoped the Saudis would respond after the end of Ramadan, but nothing had come although two weeks had passed since the end of the Muslim holy month.
Saudi Arabia’s Chambers of Commerce official Saad al Badad, who heads the National Recruitment Committee said 80 per cent of the story was fabricated and it was aimed at possible extortion. |
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