Day: December 6, 2009

Concubine rumours exaggerated say police, arresting husband

Police have said their investigation into the alleged 17-year-old concubine revealed that rumours the girl was being kept as a sex slave were exaggerated.

However at a press conference today, Mirufath Faiz, head of the family and child protection unit, said the investigation was still ongoing as her marriage in India to a 22-year-old Maldivian man was not legally recognised.

“What we are now investigating is the case of an under-aged girl who became pregnant,” she said.

The case of the ‘concubine’ was first brought to public attention by former Attorney General Azima Shukoor at a Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) rally.

Azima said she read on freelance journalist Hilath Rasheed’s blog that a woman who took an under-aged girl to Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital told a doctor that she was her husband’s concubine.

Police and the Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM) have since been trying to locate the girl.

Jeehan Mahmoud, spokesperson for the commission, told Minivan News today the matter had been handed over to the police.

“We are no longer investigating the concubine case,” she said.

Mirufath said today the investigation has shown that the matter became increasingly exaggerated as the stories came out of IGMH.

She said a Dr Shifan from IGMH told police the girl’s guardian told him that she was her husband’s concubine.

“But the older woman who took the girl denies this,” she said, adding hospital records show that she took the girl on two occasions in late June.

She said police began its investigation in September and gathered information of all girls who took pregnancy tests at IGMH from June.

In the process, she said, police learned that a 16-year-old girl tested positive.

In May, Ahmed Jihadhu, 22, M. Liyage, married the 16-year-old outside of court, she continued, and submitted a marriage certificate to the family court in June.

“But, even though the marriage took place in India, the family court informed police that the marriage was not registered as the girl was 16 years old,” she said.

Ahmed Jihadhu (pictured above) is currently in police custody on suspicion of harbouring a fugitive.

Mirufath said police have confirmed that the girl was aged 16 when the marriage in India took place and the scan in June showed she was six weeks pregnant. Doctors said she is due to give birth in March 2010.

The girl’s father told police he consented to the marriage on the condition that it would be registered in the Maldives and was unaware that it took place in India.

Mirufath stressed that the marriage was not legally recognised in the Maldives.

At a press conference today, Fathmath Yumna, director general of the department of gender and family protection service, said the department was first alerted to the family in 2003.

The girl’s step-father alleged her mother was abusing the children, she said. Both have since passed away.

The case worker noted that the girl was neglected and not being educated.

Yumna said the girl’s father expressed concern and have since agreed for the department to take her under its care.

She urged the media to be more responsible in its coverage and not reveal the girl’s identity.

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IMF approves US$92.5 million for macroeconomic programme

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Friday approved US$92.5 million in financial arrangements to help the Maldives adjust to the aftermath of the global recession and support the government’s economic policy.

The “blended financing arrangements” include a 36-month US$79.3 stand-by agreement, 600 per cent of the Maldives’ quota, and a 24-month US$13.2 under the fund’s exogenous shock facility high access component.

“The Maldivian economy was severely hit by the global crisis through significant declines in Maldives’ tourism receipts, capital inflows, and goods exports. Coming after unsustainable public spending over the last few years—partly reflecting post-tsunami reconstruction efforts—the crisis led to a very large fiscal deficit, a sharply weakened balance of payments position, and reserve losses,” reads a statement by Takatoshi Kato, deputy managing director and acting chair of the IMF executive board.

“The government’s ambitious policy program, supported by the IMF, is aimed at addressing the impact of the global economic crisis and restoring macroeconomic stability and fiscal sustainability. At the core of the program is a very strong effort to bring down the fiscal deficit while protecting social spending. To that end, the authorities are taking immediate action to cut spending, including unwinding part of the recent large wage increases, and are introducing new revenue measures to broaden the tax base. They have also taken steps to reform the civil service, improve the targeting of subsidies to the poor, and transfer enterprises and services to the private sector.”

In September, the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) ceased printing money to finance the budget deficit and launched open market operations to absorb excess liquidity of the rufiyaa in order to alleviate the dollar shortage.

Meanwhile, the government debt at the MMA has been converted to tradable securities, while it announced the issuance of treasury bonds denominated in US dollars last week.

“The authorities’ program, while subject to considerable risks, is strong, comprehensive, and well-focused, and deserves strong support of the international community. If fully implemented, it will put the Maldivian economy back on a path of macroeconomic stability and set the conditions for sustained economic growth and poverty reduction,” concludes the statement.

The government’s policy to restore macroeconomic stability and fiscal sustainability involves reducing expenditure and increasing revenue to lower the large budget deficit and introducing targeted subsidies to the poor for food and electricity.

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Police trace online stalker

Police have traced the internet connection of a man who allegedly threatened a 14-year-old girl online in an attempt to coerce her into “sexually indecent” behaviour.

“The perpetrator tried to demand the girl go to somewhere, and that he had photos and videos of her he would leak if she did not,” said Police Sergeant Shiyam.

Police said officers were initially approached by concerned friends of the girl during a school session on child abuse run by the family and child protection unit.

An investigation involving the police’s digital evidence unit tracked the man’s internet connection to his room, where police discovered three hard disks, two multimedia cards and two pen drives containing chat logs and emails threatening the girl.

“We are investigating how long it had been going on; we were lucky we found out about it so early,” Shiyam said.

The drives also contained nude photos and video clips of other young Maldivian girls, whom police said they were now trying to trace. Police said forensic evidence indicated that some of these photos had been uploaded to the internet.

The case has been forwarded to the Office of the Prosecutor General while police have released the perpetrator on a court order.

Investigating cases of online sexual abuse was “something new” for police, Shiyam said, “and something to be really concerned about.”

“Girls and boys are good at using the web and it’s not that easy to control and monitor them.”

Jeehan Mahmoud, spokesperson for Human Rights Commission Maldives (HRCM), said the Commission hoped that if found guilty the perpetrator would be charged under parliament’s new child abuse legislation that extends sentencing periods to a maximum of 25 years.

“Secondly, we want the concerned authorities to monitor the impact of multimedia on this type of crime more closely,” she said. “The Commission believes internet monitoring needs to be considered – it is something the state is obligated to do.”

Parents also needed to monitor their children’s use of the internet, she added. “Definitely parents need to be aware of what their children have access to. There hasn’t yet been a report into online [child abuse], but as it’s a growing trend perhaps it’s time to look into it further and find a way to curb it before it gets any bigger,” she said.

The Commission has received 10 reports of child abuse this year compared to four in the previous year, Jeehan said, “although it is difficult to say whether this due to an increase in reporting. People have certainly become better educated about human rights during the last four years.”

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Maldivian man falls to death in India

A Maldivian man fell to his death while painting the mast of a ship in India’s Tuticorin harbour, Haveeru reports.

The man suffered massive head injuries when he fell from the mast of the State Trading Organisation (STO) ship ‘MV Bonthi’, and was pronounced dead when he reached hospital.

STO officials told Haveeru the man was wearing a safety belt when he fell from the 8-10 foot tall mast, and the incident was being investigated.

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Burn victim evacuated to Malé

A 20 year-old girl from Seenu atoll Meedhoo suffered severe burns to 35 per cent of her body last week after an incident in the kitchen, Haveeru reports.

The girl’s husband and child were with her at the time, police said, adding that they were unclear how the incident occurred and were investigating the matter.

Nahula Abubakur was evacuated from Hithadhoo Regional Hospital to Male on Thursday for further treatment at the request of her family, doctors said.

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Pilgrims cleared off H1N1

Health authorities have revealed that none of the 448 pilgrims who returned yesterday tested positive for H1N1, reports Miadhu.

Arrangements had been made to check and screen the pilgrims, while those with flu-like symptoms were tested for swine flu.

The checking will continue as over a 1000 pilgrims return throughout the week.

Three groups of pilgrims have returned to the country after performing the religious duty of Hajj.

Pilgrims under the care of the Sisilifaru, Assafa and al-Hairu groups arrived yesterday. Assafa arranged the pilgrimage for 180 people, while al-Hairu took 85 and Sisilifaru had 154 people.

The last group of pilgrims is set to arrive on 13 December.

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Maldives draws first match VS Nepal

The Maldives drew its first match at the ongoing SAFF Championship tournament in Nepal.

The defending champions were held 1-1 by Nepal on Saturday. Striker Ahmed Thoriq (Tom) gave the Maldives the lead in the 60th minute with an accurate shot in the penalty area after taking the ball past the Nepalese keeper.

But, Nepal equalised eight minutes later with Ju Manu Rai latching on to a pass from Yogesh Shreshtha.

Maldives will next face Afghanistan.

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18-year-old Indian girl in suspected bigamy case

Police are investigating the case of an 18-year-old Indian girl suspected of being married to two Maldivians.

Speaking at a press conference last week, Inspector Hamdhoon Rasheed said police learned of the girl when she attempted suicide in Addu atoll.

Investigations revealed that the girl married two Maldivians at the age of 15 in 2007. Both marriages took place in India at the request of her father.

Hamdhoon said she arrived in the country with her second husband on 1 October and the couple would have had difficulties legally registering the marriage in the Maldives.

He added the girl had since been sent back to India.

Police are investigating the case in collaboration with the High Commission in India.

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