Towards establishing the national forensic facility, the government has initiated the consolidation of laboratory services in the country. Prime Minister Dr Lotay Tshering said, as of today all the agencies and authorities in the country are working in silos which consumes a lot of resources. The government during the last Meet the Press session announced the establishment of a full-fledged national forensic facility at the public health laboratory in Serbithang, Thimphu.
The government met with the relevant agencies and authorities such as the judiciary, police, Bhutan Narcotics Control Authority (BNCA). The government suggested a reference laboratory in the region with all the required facilities would be better rather than each agency establishing individual laboratory. The Health Minister said this will enable effective utilization of the country’s limited resources.
“To give a specific example, equipment is costing a minimum of Nu 5.7 M to Nu 15 M. All it does is conduct around four tests ina day. That is complete underutilisation of our resources. And these equipment are in at least three different places. So I think the move is really towards efficient use of resources,” said the Health Miniter Dechen Wangmo.
The Prime Minister said that the forensic department, especially in terms of medico-legal, should maintain autonomy.
“If judiciary opens a forensic lab and if they investigate themselves it will be inconvenient because they are the ones who give the verdict. Likewise, if the police have their own laboratory, how the result comes out might be in their hands. This will result in a conflict of interest. It might possibly be the same with the government. If some big case from the government’s side is being investigated, and if the government can do anything to alter the results, this would be very inconvenient. So the forensic department shouldn’t be under government, judiciary or police,” said Prime Minister Dr Lotay Tshering.
At the meeting, all the agencies and authorities reached a consensus of establishing a common forensic laboratory facility.
Samten Dolkar
