The Maldives Police Service (MPS) has arrested 18 foreigners found gambling in Malé.
A police statement said a court warrant was obtained before the arrests were made from a house in the Maafannu ward in Malé. All of those arrested were Bangladeshi nationals.
The MPS said that large sums of money were discovered after searching the house and that the case is now being investigated by the Criminal Investigation Department.
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(0)The Maldives Police Services (MPS) has urged all citizens to be wary of cyber-crimes and the increasing prevalence of money-grabbing scams.
Speaking at a press conference today, MPS Drug Enforcement Department head Superintendent Ahmed Shifan said that cyber-crime has become an “emerging and trending” issue, with a separate police unit tasked with dealing with the problem.
Local media reported yesterday (December 30) that the Minister of Islamic Affairs Dr Mohamed Shaheem was claiming his official twitter account had been hacked and that all tweets posted after 11pm on December 29 were not posted by him.
Shaheem’s account showed one post after 11pm which reiterated his previously expressed discontent towards the Tourist Arrival Countdown Show which, at the time, was to feature Jamaican dancehall artist Sean Paul.
Sean Paul has since cancelled his appearance in the show, citing security concerns after a death threat appeared on Youtube last week. Religious religious groups within the country also called for the performance to be stopped.
In a press statement released today, the police also urged citizens to be more vigilant towards scams and embezzlement.
While revealing that two or three such cases are filed every week, the statement also said that such cases were difficult to proceed with because such criminals are often hard to trace.
The statement said that some of the most commonly reported cases were those where customers put in more money than was paid when getting mobile phone reload or ‘raastas’ services, and when scammers promised to provide gifts for money.
Police requested that people not hand money to anyone communicating through unknown phone numbers or individuals who promise monetary profits in return. They also urged shop keepers to dial in mobile phones of customers themselves.
People were asked to report any suspicious requests and to carry out monetary transactions more carefully.
Statistics provided by the police show that 374 embezzlement cases have been reported this year, compared to 391 in 2013.
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(5)Dislikes(0)Ruling Progressive Party of Maldives leader Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has expressed sadness over the resignation of Civil Court Judge Aisha Shujoon.
A tweet posted yesterday by the former president read that he was “saddened by the resignation of Judged Aishath Shujoon one of the first two women judges I had pleasure of appointing in 2007”.
Haveeru reported Shujoon gave her letter of resignation to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) on Monday (December 29).
Shujoon, a founding member of Maldivian Democracy Network, was recently re-elected to UN subcommittee on the prevention of torture and other inhuman treatment or punishment.
Earlier this month, the seven member Civil Court bench condemned the removal of two Supreme Court Judges, including the chief justice, saying the JSC was “forced” to deem the two judges unfit for the bench through an “unconstitutional” amendment to the Judicature Act.
A subsequent case challenging the decision was removed from the Civil Court’s jurisdiction by the Supreme Court.
In February, JSC launched an investigation into Shujoon after she announced on state television that she was once offered a US$5 million bribe, which she refused.
(5)Dislikes(0)The Maldives Police Service (MPS) have said today that it is prepared for any event which might unfold at the ‘Tourist Arrival Countdown’ show held in Malé tonight.
Central Operations Command’s Deputy Head Superintendent Abdulla Shareef said that all security measures for the New Year’s Eve show held at the National Stadium have been arranged.
“All roads surrounding the National Stadium and leading up to it will be blocked for vehicle entry from 6.30pm tonight. We request all individuals wishing to watch the show to walk to the National Stadium,” said Shareef.
Shareef’s statements comes after Jamaican dancehall artist Sean Paul cancelled his scheduled appearance at the show, citing security concerns.
Tourism minister Ahmed Adeeb has today announced that the show will now feature Indian artists Salim and Sulaiman Merchant.
Sean Paul’s cancellation followed the posting of an online death threat against the singer last week, as well as calls from religious groups within the country to stop the performance.
“Unfortunately, the world has reached a point where cyber threats must affect real life decisions,” read a message posted on the artists official Facebook page yesterday (December 30).
Meanwhile, MPS confirmed today reports on local media that the service had searched a house and questioned an individual in connection to the video after obtaining a warrant yesterday.
Tourism minister Adeeb told Minivan News yesterday (December 30) that Sean Paul had decided to continue with the concert before pressure in Jamaica caused him to make the last minute decision to cancel.
The singer’s decision had come despite assurances from the President’s Office and the security services that the posted threat was a hoax.
Adeeb revealed on his twitter account today that the show will now include performances by Indian artists Salim and Sulaiman Merchant who arrived in the Maldives this morning.
Welcome to Maldives Salim Sulaiman and the band to perform in the Maldives Tourist Arrival Count Down Show pic.twitter.com/zDnmPF3RHr
— Ahmed Adeeb (@Ahmed_Adeeb) December 31, 2014
The brothers – who perform under the name ‘Salim-Sulaiman’ – have produced music for several Bollywood hit films and come from a Muslim family in Gujarat.
Also speaking at the police press conference today, Drug Enforcement Department’s head Superintendent Ahmed Shifan said the police will not allow “illegal new year parties, especially those with illegal narcotics” to take place.
Shifan revealed today that the police arrested a 29-year-old man with 140 bullets of heroin while a 35-year-old Maldivian arriving from Sri Lanka was arrested with 30 “pieces of narcotics” which he had swallowed.
The past week has seen a large amount of alcohol confiscated in the Malé area, with police reporting seven individuals taken into custody within the last 48 hours after having being found in possession of alcohol on Hulhumalé.
Last weekend police confiscated 70 bottles of liquor and 70 cans of beer with a street value of MVR200,000 (US12,970) from Faamudheyrige in Maafannu ward in Malé.
Shifan had claimed that it was foreigners who are mainly active in Malé’s black market trade in alcohol, but said they received help from Maldivians, resulting in the confiscation of at least 400 containers of alcohol since December 1.
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(2)Dislikes(0)A cargo ship which ran aground on the reef near Thilafushi earlier this month has been fined MVR22 million (US$1.4 million), the Transport Authority has told local media.
The MV Mutha Pioneer – registered in Dominica – became lodged on the reef to the north west of the industrial island on December 10, with an analysis by the Environmental Protection Agency revealing it had caused damage to 588 square meters of reef.
After spending around ten hours stranded on the reef, the Maldives National Defence Force was able to free the 1,900 tonne cargo vessel.
At the start of the year (January 7) a 27,000-tonne vessel called Auguste Schulte became stranded in shallow water while attempting to make a turn near the coast of the Raalhugandu area in Malé.
After assessing the damage caused by this incident, the government claimed damages of MVR 62.7 million (US$4 million).
Source: Haveeru
(3)Dislikes(1)Civil Court Judge Aisha Shujoon has given her letter of resignation to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), reports Haveeru.
Shujoon, a founding member of Maldivian Democracy Network (MDN), was recently re-elected to UN subcommittee on the prevention of torture and other inhuman treatment or punishment.
Earlier this month, the seven member Civil Court bench condemned the removal of two Supreme Court Judges, including the chief justice, saying the JSC was “forced” to deem the two judges unfit for the bench through an “unconstitutional” amendment to the Judicature Act.
A subsequent case challenging the decision was removed from the Civil Court’s jurisdiction by the Supreme Court.
In February, JSC launched an investigation into Shujoon after she announced on state television that she was once offered a US$5 million bribe, which she refused.
Source: Haveeru; Sun Online
(2)Dislikes(0)The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has submitted a case against Gaaf Dhaal Rathafandhoo council President Ahmed Fauzee and three others to the Prosecutor General’s Office.
Haveeru reported that the commission has accused Fauzee and three others of using the influence of their positions while assigning security work, suggesting that the members of the proposal evaluation committee had allocated points in violation of set standards.
According to the paper, an ACC statement explained that documents and testimonies collected during investigations proved the accused had acted in violation of the State Finance Act to provide unlawful benefit to a third party.
The others implicated alongside Fauzee are Fathuhulla Basheer, Abbas Haneef, and Fathuhulla Ahmed – all members of the proposal evaluation committee.
Source: Haveeru
(2)Dislikes(0)Warning: This article contains graphic images.
Local environmental NGOs Ecocare and Bluepeace have condemned images circulating on social media showing a turtle being cut in half for its eggs and meat.
Both the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and police are now investigating the pictures.
Ecocare has demanded “immediate action from relevant authorities to stop such atrocities against protected marine species in the country”, in a statement which also said the NGO was “outraged by the lack of adequate enforcement measures in place”.
The pictures which were shared on Facebook show a group of people cutting open an adult sea turtle and extracting its eggs and meat. Local media outlet Sun Online has reported that the pictures were taken on the island of Maalhos in Alif Alif Atoll.
Maalhos Island Council has expressed concern over the incident but has said it was not aware that the pictures originated from the island.
Sun reported council Vice President Ahmed Sameeh as saying that it was common for islanders to hunt turtles and that the council has repeatedly requested citizens to stop.
Bluepeace Executive Director Rilwan Ali told Minivan News that the main obstruction to preventing such instances was poor institutional coordination between the Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture and the EPA.
“The biggest problem is that turtle conservation comes under the fisheries law which is implemented by the fisheries ministry. The ministry has to share its resources with the EPA so that these kinds of events can be prevented,” said Rilwan.
Speaking on behalf the EPA, Director General Ibrahim Naeem said that these kinds of events could have a negative impact on the tourism of the country as well as long term effects on the economy, while highlighting the need for stricter punishments for such environmental crimes.
According to the fisheries regulations, the “catching, fishing, collecting or killing” of sea turtles is illegal throughout the country. The collection of sea turtles and eggs is also illegal, but only in 14 of the country’s 1,192 islands.
The current moratorium is set to last until 2016 thoug reports of turtle slaughter persist. Earlier this year, one source estimated that up to 180 turtles were killed from a single island in Shaviyani Atoll in 2013.
“There is a well-known nesting island and every night a group is going and hunting the turtles. It is so obvious, every day since January one or two are killed,” said the informed source. “They wait for them to nest on the island, or go snorkeling to hunt them.”
While speaking to Minivan News in April this year, Sam Hope – Marine Discovery Centre Manager at Four Seasons Kuda Huraa – said that the biggest threat to turtles is egg collection and trade.
Meanwhile, turtle conservation expert Dr Agnese Mancini has reported a decline in the population of the majority of turtle species found in the Maldives.
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(3)Dislikes(0)China has today gifted a number of cultural items to the Maldives, following discussions between the countries’ respective first ladies during President Xi Jinpeng’s visit in September.
During a ceremony held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs this morning, Chinese Ambassador Wang Fukang signed an official certificate marking the handing over of the gifts, which included books, ethnic costumes, musical instruments, and Chinese crafts.
“During the meetings, both our countries’ leaders have made a decision to build a future-oriented, all-round, cooperative friendship,” Sun Online reported Wang as saying during the ceremony.
“We each promote our bilateral relations to new heights. So from our Chinese government we are very satisfied with our bilateral relations.”
Source: Sun Online
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