The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) said today that it would send a letter of demand seeking Rs. 500 million from Malabe Medical Institute’s Parents Association member Gemunu Wijeratne for allegedly making defamatory statements against the GMOA.

Mr. Wijeratne is also the President of the Lanka Private Bus Owners Association.

 In a media statement, Secretary of the GMOA, Dr. Nalinda Herath stated that Mr. Wijeratne had given false statement to several media outlets, which had damaged the GMOA reputation after it had started to reveal alleged irregularities at the South Asia Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM).

He said they would send the letter of demand as compensation in near future though their lawyers.

Meanwhile, Dr. Herath said the GMOA would lodge a complaint with Police Chief N.K. Illangakoon regarding a news web site, which had allegedly published several news articles insulting the GMOA and its Chairman.

“The owner of the website has been publishing defamatory articles against not only the GMOA but also of the President, Army Commander and journalists.  We have information to prove that the owner is blackmailing some reputed persons by asking money from them to remove articles on the web site,” he charged.(Darshana Sanjeewa)