Bataheene Wederalage Seneviratne, 58, went missing from the King Fahd Hospital in Al-Hasa on Dec. 18 after being admitted for treatment following a car accident on Nov. 16.
Confirming the disappearance of the patient from the hospital, a senior official from the Sri Lankan Embassy here told Arab News on Friday that the hospital authorities have said that the patient may have walked out of the hospital as a result of memory loss following the unfortunate incident.
Such patient is described as an endangered runaway, the official noted, however, adding that the mission cannot come to a conclusion till the real reasons for his disappearance are found.
Seneviratne, holder of Sri Lankan passport No. 0984185, was working for GECAT Construction Company in Al-Hasa as a civil engineer.
The diplomat said that the mission had received a complaint from his son, Madura Seneviratne from Colombo through the External Affairs Ministry (EAM).
The official said the mission had lodged a complaint with the local police and had also informed the social service organizations in the Eastern Province to find the whereabouts of the missing person.
In Colombo, the son had taken up the matter with the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) and the EAM.
“My father was employed at a construction company for the past 10 years and was planning to return home before Christmas when this happened. We seek the help of the concerned authorities to trace the missing person.” the son said in a statement made in Colombo.
The family has also made representations to the National Union of Migrant Workers Sri Lanka (NUMS) and to the Association of Licensed Foreign Employment Agencies (ALFEA). NUMS Secretary Palitha Athukorale said they have urged their union representatives in Saudi Arabia to take up the matter with the relevant authorities in the Kingdom.
Athukorale said he would speak to the SLBFE and the EAM to find out the progress made by them. It is their responsibility to track down the missing person since the person involved here is a Sri Lankan expatriate worker deployed in Saudi Arabia.
ALFEA Secretary Faizer Mackeen told a local newspaper in Colombo that they would inform the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI), which monitors the employment recruitment agencies in the Kingdom. He added that ALFEA representatives would shortly visit Seneviratne’s home in Colombo to gather more details, such as the local recruiting agent and his Saudi employer.
“In such a case it is the EAM that should be in contact with the Lankan Mission in Riyadh and direct officials over there to take up the matter with the police and other relevant authorities in Saudi Arabia,” Mackeen said.
Anyone with information about where he is located is asked to call the nearest police station or to contact the Sri Lankan Embassy in Riyadh.
