Category: News in Brief

Criminal court releases murder suspect

The criminal court has released a defendant on trial for the murder of 16-year-old Mohamed Arham in May 2012 from police custody.

According to local media, the case was transferred from judge Muhthaz Fahmy to judge Abdulla Didi last week.

Judge Didi reportedly ordered the release of Athif Rasheed, from Maafanu Scenery View in Malé, after a hearing of the murder trial today.

Arham, a grade nine student at the Dharumavantha School, was found dead in the Lorenzo park in Malé on May 30, 2012. He died of multiple stab wounds to the neck, back, and chest.

Rasheed was charged with murder along with three other suspects and had been kept in pre-trial detention since his arrest. The trial began in November 2012.

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MIRA warns of impersonators collecting information from taxpayers

The Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) has warned of impersonators collecting information from shops and other taxpayers.

In a public announcement today, MIRA said its staff will show identification passes when they visit taxpayers and advised businesses against imparting any information to impersonators.

The tax authority also urged the public to alert the authorities of any persons falsely claiming to be a MIRA employee.

 

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Imran appeals pre-trial detention order

The president of Adhaalath Party, Sheikh Imran Abdulla, has appealed a criminal court ruling to keep him in police custody until the end of a terrorism trial.

Imran is charged with terrorism along with Jumhooree Party’s deputy leader Ameen Ibrahim and its council member Sobah Rasheed. The three are accused of inciting violence at a historic antigovernment protest on May 1.

At the case’s first hearing on Tuesday, state prosecutors cited a secret police intelligence report, and claimed Imran was a threat to society. They requested the three-judge panel detain Imran until the end of his trial.

Defence lawyers requested Imran be kept under house arrest, noting the high court had last week overturned a May 17 criminal court order and transferred Imran from police custody to house arrest because of his diabetes.

Judges Abdul Bari Yoosuf, Abdulla Didi and Sujau Usman rejected the request.

 

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IGMH introduces text message, mobile, and internet appointment service

The government-run Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) has introduced new services for making appointments through text messages, an Android application, and from the hospital’s website.

Deputy director of operations Mohamed Rishwan told the press today that the new services are intended to ease the burden for customers who have to wait in long queues.

Customers will also be able to check which token number is being served. Rishwan said there will be separate queues for emergency, X-rays, OPD, and laboratory services.

IGMH is the only tertiary hospital in the Maldives and caters to patients travelling from across the country.

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Victim of Maradhoo accident dies

A 30-year-old man died in Addu City in the early hours of Sunday while undergoing treatment for injuries sustained in an accident.

Local media has identified the deceased as Ali Nizar, from Alibohareege in Hithadhoo.

The accident occurred around 12:20am in the Maradhoo ward of Addu City. Nizar’s motorbike reportedly collided with a parked pickup.

According to the police, Nizar sustained injuries to his face and various parts of the body. His motorbike was damaged beyond use.

Several fatal accidents occur each year in the interlinked islands of the southernmost atoll.

Three young men died after road accidents on March 30 and April 10.

In November, a 33-year-old man died following a motorcycle accident whilst two men died in September after their motorcycle collided with a pickup.

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Man caught with 13 bullets of drugs in anal cavity

A 19-year-old man was arrested at the airport with 13 bullets of drugs concealed in his anal cavity.

The police stopped him at the Ibrahim Nasir International Aiprort (INIA) on an intelligence tip-off. The bullets were noticed after doing an x-ray. The man has been remanded for 15 days.

Meanwhile, the criminal court has today sentenced a 27-year-old man to ten years in prison for drug trafficking. Hussein Nahulaan Abdul Gayoom was caught with 0.5grams of illegal drugs in June 2014.

He was also handed a MVR50,000 (US$3,225) fine.

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Five arrested for sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl

Five men have been arrested in southern Addu City on a charge of sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl.

The police said the five men arrested were aged, 81, 77, 56, 32 and 18 years.

Some were family members of the victim.

A court has remanded the five for 15 days.

A magistrate court in Gaaf Dhaal Atoll Gahdhoo has meanwhile sentenced a 25-year-old man to ten years in jail for sexually abusing another 14-year-old girl in 2010.

 

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MTCC to build docking terminal in Thilafushi

The state-owned Maldives Transport and Construction Company (MTCC) is planning to invest MVR52 million (US$3.3 million) to build a docking terminal on the industrial island of Thilafushi near Malé.

MTCC chairman Hussain Salim reportedly said at the company’s annual general meeting last night that the dock yard can be completed in three years.

The company could earn a profit of MVR100 million (US$6.4 million) in a short period due to high demand for the service, he added.

The company will also introduce steel construction this year, Salim said, which is cheaper and faster than concrete structures.

MTCC also plans to invest MVR700 million (US$45 million) during the next five years to improve the capability of the local construction industry. The investment includes buying a dredger for land reclamation projects, Salim said.

The company made a record profit of MVR81.64 million (US$5.2 million) in 2014.

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Two narrow lanes in Malé pedestrianized

The housing ministry has pedestrianized two narrow lanes in the capital Malé city.

The Embu goalhi and Gul’alaa goalhi in central Machangoalhi ward were closed to traffic as part of a campaign to make Malé city friendlier to pedestrians.

The housing ministry has also barred vehicles from parking in the lanes.

Malé is one of the most congested cities in the world.

The housing ministry in February pedestrianized two lanes, the Heenaa Goalhi and the Raivilla Magu. However, they were opened up for traffic within days after residents in the area complained.

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