Remembering A RENOWNED Chief Consultant JMO

Dr. Lucian Bernard Lalantha de Alwis, or Dr. L.B.L. de Alwis, retired Chief Consultant Judicial Medical Officer Colombo, went to be with the Lord, after a very brief illness. As inconspicuously as he sauntered into the workplace, the prestigious Office of the Colombo Judicial Medical officer, he left us silently leaving a void that cannot be filled.

All academic staff at the University Departments of Forensic Medicine, Professors, senior lecturers, lecturers alike as well as Judicial medical officers in the Health Ministry remember him with love and fondness. He was an honest person with integrity who made no compromise when it came to public service.

Dr. 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 and retired in 2007. He was the longest serving Chief Consultant Judicial Medical Officer in Sri Lanka.

Dr. de Alwis rendered an 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.

Due to the recognition he had gained, all controversial suspected murder cases from all parts of the country were referred to him.  He would look hard and long, silently, at a cadaver, when we grappled with a mysterious death, and point towards a place and say, “Dissect this area”. Lo and behold there we found the seat of violence. Such was his high intelligence, insight, instinct and invaluable experience.  

Dr. de Alwis was one of the humblest of doctors. One senior Board certified Specialist in Forensic Medicine of the PGIM Colombo, now working in the UnitedKingdom wrote sometime back, “the greatest teacher that I respect in my whole life is Dr. L.B.L.de Alwis who retired after rendering an excellent service to the country. Although I used to address him as “sir” by habit, he associated with us as a friend though with great respect”. 

He used public transport until the last days of his service, walking leisurely to the Railway station in humble attitude, not utilizing even the official vehicle provided for him. Wealth, fame and glory were never his objective, in all the ventures he undertook, but fame and glory followed him throughout his career.

As a Visiting lecturer and External Examiner in Forensic Medicine his services were utilissed 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.

During his tenure as Chairman, Board of Study in Forensic Medicine and Chief Examiner in Forensic Medicine of the Postgraduate Institute of Medicine, University of Colombo for 6 years, his hard work produced many Specialists in the field. The comprehensive Forensic Medicine books on Forensic Medicine and Toxicology written by him were sold at only the printing cost, true to his nature as he had no intention of making such profits.

Dr. L. B. L. De Alwis was greatly respected not only by those in his own profession, but also in the other professions he came into contact with. Senior Legal luminaries branded him as the most excellent expert medical witness in the country, surpassed by none who followed him.  In our eyes too Dr. Alwis, as he is fondly called, was an inimitable expert medical witness, who would express his opinion in criminal cases, without mincing his words, irrespective of the parties involved. 

Many a court witness feigning illness would be brought to him for examination, to determine their fitness to attend courts. A number of such powerful men were certified as fit to appear in courts by him, in spite of their bringing ‘dubious’medical certificates from doctors of high repute. He brought professionalism, integrity, honesty as well as compassion and humility to the profession of forensic medicine.  It is with great respect that we bow to Dr. L.B.L. de Alwis, who left us a legacy. To follow his footsteps of competence, professionalism, integrity and humility  is the best salute we could give this great man.
Teacher, teacher my hands are cramped

The gems you throw I try to cram
No time to lose lest I forget
To store in my head before the day’s spent
A world of Forensics unique to your own
With great learning and hard toil sown
Vocal mastery and little visual aid
In rapt attention as we all gazed
The humble man but ready wit
with nary a care for politics or wealth
Honesty integrity etched on the face
Calm confidence, but arrogance, not a trace
Adieu! Dear Teacher for a life well spent
Rejecting jingling coins as this life you tread
Your unwavering faith stood you in good stead
May you be the role model we all emulate!

Thoughts shared on behalf of all Specialists in Forensic Medicine Board Certified by the Postgraduate Institute of Medicine, University of Colombo Sri Lanka