Month: August 2010

Criminal court orders release of seven men arrested on suspicion of murdering 17 year-old

The Criminal Court last night ordered the release of seven men arrested by police in connection with a series of stabbings over the weekend, including the murder of a 17 year-old boy n Friday.

The boy was stabbed in the leg as he was climbing into a lorry, severing a major artery, and slowly bled to death despite eight hours of treatment and blood transfusions.

A police media official said the seven men were arrested after police received information that the men were connected to the death of the 17 year-old boy, and that they had planned similar attacks.

“It is the duty of the police to maintain the peace of the society under article number 49 of the Constitution,’’ he said. “So in order to prevent further attacks they had planned, we requested the Criminal Court grant an extension of their detention, as we had information that there were more planned attacks.’’

He said that all seven men had recent police records of assault and battery and other gang-related crimes.

‘’But the Criminal Court, however, released them,” he added.

Minivan News understands that senior police are furious at the court’s ruling.

“At dawn, some people attacked the private property of a very senior police officer. They burned his motorbike, which cost over Rf100,000,’’ the spokesperson noted, when queried as to the current state of security in Male’.

When Minivan News called the mobile phone of Spokesperson for the Criminal Court Ahmed Riffath, seeking a comment on the ruling, the man who answered claimed Riffath was not there he did not know when or how he could be reached, and quickly hung up.

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Customs intercept shipment of swords believed destined for gangs

A shipment of swords has been intercepted by customs inspectors, who discovered the weapons inside a container imported to the Maldives and originally loaded in China.

A person familiar with the matter told Minivan News that there were more than five swords in the container, and suggested they had been imported by senior political figures in an effort to arm the gangs belonging to one or either political party.

“The swords were not imported by any of the gangs. Rather it was an attempt by a senior political figure of the country to arm the gangs and raise the heat of the situation of Male’,” the source claimed.

“The gang war is ongoing.  If the weapons were imported then they would [be allocated] to one of the senior gang members, and then distributed amongst other members of their gangs.’’

Spokesperson for Maldives Ports Limited (MPL), Hassan Muzni Mohamed, confirmed the swords were discovered during an inspection by customs officers.

“According to our staff, five swords were discovered inside that container,’’ he said.

The ship that carried the container, ‘MOL KOMATI’, was loaded in China and stopped at a port in Singapore prior arriving in the Maldives.

Spokesperson for the Customs Authority Mohamed Ibrahim said that the swords were discovered on Thursday night and had ‘’apparently been produced in China.’’

‘’The swords are double-edged and three feet long,’’ said Ibrahim. ‘’We will hand them to the Defense Ministry after doing the necessary investigations.’’

Ibrahim stated that those responsible “would be charged for importing a contraband material, and attempting to import a material in secrecy. The swords were not mentioned in any of the documents.”

A police media official said the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) would investigate the case.

MNDF Major Abdul Raheem said the defense ministry would have information regarding the swords but that they had not yet been handed over to the MNDF.

State Minister for Defence Muiz Adnan said he had no information regarding the swords, but claimed that “sometimes swords are available to buy at some souvenir shops.”

The Criminal Court has previously released a person arrested and charged for possessing a sword, ruling that the Constitution and laws were silent on the issue as there was no law specifically prohibiting the possession of swords, and therefore there were no grounds to sentence the person.

Last Friday a 17 year-old boy was stabbed to death by a group of people, after watching a football match with friends.

Correction: An earlier version of this story stated that the ship’s owner would be charged. This was a misunderstanding and has been amended pending clarification. Minivan News apologises for any confusion caused.

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Deadlock continues as confusion over time cancels scheduled peace talks

Scheduled peace talks between the government and opposition joint coalition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), People’s Alliance (PA), Jumhoory Party (JP) and Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) supposed to be held yesterday afternoon were reportedly cancelled due to confusion over the time..

MDP MP Hamid Abdul Gafoor said the meeting was scheduled for 4:30pm yesterday – a time agreed during the last meeting held – but the opposition attended the meeting at 4:00pm.

‘’It was just a minor time issue, an inadequate reason to cancel the meeting,’’ said Gafoor. ‘’We understood that the meeting was scheduled for 4:30pm and we went there for 4:30pm.’’

Gafoor said that when MDP delegates attended some of the opposition delegates had already left the venue and others were being interviewed by the press.

‘’They were telling the press that the meeting was canceled because we did not come on time,’’ Gafoor said.

Deputy Leader and Spokesperson for the DRP, Ibrahim Shareef, insisted the time agreed by both sides was 4:00pm.

“It was scheduled for 4:00pm. In the joint statement issued the time was set for 4:00pm, and [the MDP] came late,’’ said Shareef. ‘’Our team waited but there was no sign of the ruling party delegates.’’

He said that the MDP delegates “did not even advise whether they would be coming or not”, and that therefore the opposition coalition decided to cancel the meeting because they had not arrived at the scheduled time.

‘’If they gave us a signal that they were coming we would have waited, but since there was no sign that they were coming, we did not know when they would arrive,’’ Shareef said.

MDP Chairperson Mariya Didi described the incident as “a very silly mistake on both our sides. I think it has been played up in the media. We were waiting outside [the venue] – it is unfortunate they did not call to find out.”

Speaker of the Parliament and DRP MP Abdulla Shahid cancelled the parliamentary session today to make way for the ongoing peace talks, in a bid to allow the resolution of issues behind closed doors.

Mariya acknowledged the decision, suggesting that a sitting of parliament would potentially lead “to fighting and further bad faith.”

The President’s Member on the Judicial Services Commission (JSC), Aishath Velezinee, last week accused the Speaker of taking “undue advantage” of the political crisis and the cancellation of parliament, by seeking to expedite the reappointment of existing judges before the Constitutional deadline of August 7 despite plummeting public confidence in the integrity of the judiciary.

“The Speaker is now coming and sitting in the JSC [office] day and night, during Friday, holidays and Independence Day. The Speaker is sitting in the JSC trying to expedite this process of reappointing judges before the Majlis starts,” Velezinee claimed.

Abdulla Shahid was not responding to calls at time of press.

President Mohamed Nasheed has nominated Supreme Court Judge Uz Ahmed Faiz Hussain as the new Chief Justice, however this – along with the reappointment of his cabinet members, following their voluntary resignation a week earlier – requires parliamentary approval.

Mariya noted that the judiciary was one of the subjects of discussion among the parties, but reiterated that both sides had agreed not to reveal details of the talks to the media.

As for the status of the talks following yesterday’s apparent confusion over times, “we’re still working on it.”

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Politics of race and corruption impoverishing Malaysia: Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah

“Without a doubt, Malaysia is slipping. Billions have been looted from this country, and billions more are being siphoned out as our entire political structure crumbles,’ claims former finance minister Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah speaking at the 4th Annual Malaysian Student Leaders Summit. “Yet we are gathered here in comfort, in a country that still seems to ‘work’ – most of the time. This is due less to good management than to the extraordinary wealth of this country.”

“Last year, we received US$1.38 billion in investments but US$8.04 billion flowed out. We are the only country in Southeast Asia that has suffered net FDI outflow,” he said. “I am not against outward investment. It can be a good thing for the country. But an imbalance on this scale indicates capital flight, not mere investment overseas.”

“When race and money entered our game, we declined,” he said. “The same applies to our political and economic life.”

Read more

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17 year old bleeds to death after gang-linked triple stabbing

Police are investigating the murder of a 17 year old boy who was stabbed to death by a group of men during an apparent gang fight.

The 17 year old was stabbed in the leg on Friday afternoon near the Social Centre in Maafannu, Male’.

He was admitted to Indira Gandi Memorial Hospital and treated for more than eight hours in the Intensive Care Unit, but the knife severed a major artery and despite an emergency blood transfusion he died the following morning at 6:15am.

He was was buried that afternoon at Aasahara cemetery.

A person familiar with the matter told Minivan News the boy was stabbed when he climbed onto the back of a lorry after watching a football match at Maaziya football ground.

“He was with his friends on a lorry and about to leave, when they were attacked by a group of people people armed with stones and sticks,” the source said. “After a while they came close and stabbed him with a knife. Two other boys were also stabbed, one in the chest and another in the leg.’’

All three victims were taken to IGMH around 6pm.

One of the victims told Minivan News today that a squad of police were active in the area prior to the incident but were unable to control the eruption of violence in the area.

‘’Police officers were running around, but they seemed shocked and didn’t know what to do,’’ said the victim. “The police officers didn’t help, so I ran to IGMH with my friend.’’

The IGMH doctors stitched his wound and told him it was fine, he said.

‘’I was discharged from IGMH that night and I went home, but I did not feel well. I was having difficulty breathing, but since they said I was fine, I thought I was fine,’’ he said.

“Later, I realised air was spreading inside my body and my back, chest, neck and arms were puffing up.’’

He said he went to ADK hospital last night.

‘’Doctors at ADK said that I had been stabbed in the lungs and that one of my lungs had stopped functioning,’’ he said. ‘’They said if I had been any later the air would have reached my brain and they would not have been able to help me.’’

He was admitted at ADK hospital and had a pipe inserted into his lungs due to stem the internal bleeding.

He said that the other boy who was stabbed had been discharged.

The following afternoon two more boys were stabbed in Mahchangolhi, one in the head and another in the back.

A person familiar with the matter said neither were seriously injured.

“One boy was stabbed neat Mahchangolhi cemetery and other was stabbed near Ameenee building,’’ he said. ‘’It was around 11:00 am in the morning – they were stabbed at the same time, one after the other.’’

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam confirmed six people were stabbed over the weekend, one fatally.

“Four people were injured on Friday and one of them died. Yesterday afternoon two were injured,’’ he said.

Police have arrested 11 people in connection with the case. Police and Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) launched a special operation on July 15 to investigate gang violence.

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