In the month of March, a Sri Lankan woman had passed away at the immigration center in Central Japan. Now the woman’s kin has filed an indictment on Tuesday against senior members of the detainment center who allegedly contributed to her death by failing to provide the proper medical attention.
The treatment received by Ratnayake Liyanage Wishma Sandamali, 33, in Nagoya Regional Immigration Services Bureau is a sign of willful indifference, according to her older siblings Poornima and Wayomi.
The complaint that the sisters filed with the Nagoya District Public Prosecutors Office against the director and deputy director of the facility and the officers who were in charge at the time of the death of Wishma say the director is required to make appropriate decisions if a prisoner declares that they are sick.
Wishma came to Japan as a student in 2017, was caught by authorities in Nagoya in August 2020 after having overstayed her visa. She passed away two weeks later, on the sixth day of March, while still in detention. However, while in the care of the members of the immigration center, she complained of abdominal discomfort and similar symptoms since January.
According to an inquiry report issued in August by Japan’s Immigration Services Agency, staff at the institution lacked an understanding of handling crises. Investigations also found several flaws in the information exchange system and the medical ability was not up to mark.
However, when the investigation could not pinpoint the reason for Wishma’s death, her family filed the case to learn the truth.
Following her death report, the immigration agency carelessly compressed two weeks’ worth of security camera video of Wishma before her death into a mere two hours and sent it to her family.
Along with their attorneys, the family watched the video sent by the center on the first day of October at Nagoya District Court. This occurred after they announced their intention to launch a lawsuit seeking state compensation.
The agency has not made any statements because it is simply “not in a position to do so.”
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