The picture of the fully naked body of recently gunned down Wasantha Perera aka “Club Wasantha” has been circulating in social media these days. It seems to have been taken at the setting of a post-mortem being conducted. The assumption is high-ranking medical professionals were there given the publicity received for the death of this individual. This coincides with another unethical blunder by Sri Lankan police, a suspect being interrogated in public.
Exposing a naked body, especially one undergoing a post-mortem examination on social media is generally considered highly unethical. Every individual, be it a dignitary or a notorious criminal, even after death, deserves respect and dignity. Seeing graphic images of a loved one’s body on social media can cause profound distress and harm to family members and friends who are mourning their loss.
The deceased did not consent to having their body displayed publicly in this manner. Even if consent were not an issue in a legal sense, there is an ethical obligation to consider their dignity and the feelings of their loved ones.
Medical and forensic professionals are bound by strict ethical guidelines regarding patient confidentiality and respect for the deceased. Sharing such images or videos on social media would likely violate these standards and could result in professional repercussions.
We assume, according to Sri Lankan jurisdiction, that sharing such images could potentially violate laws related to privacy, decency, and the handling of human remains. It’s important to treat the deceased with the same respect and dignity as we would want for ourselves.
The person(s) responsible for this unethical, disgusting act should be punished severely, they should be removed from their profession. They are a disgrace to this responsible profession. If we are going to rebuild the broken Sri Lankan society, we need to eradicate these types of rude, uncivilized, inhumane acts. It is not a difficult task to find out who the responsible people are for this repulsive, sickening, nauseating behaviour.
Have Sri Lankan authorities commenced looking into this very serious issue?
