The Maldives Police Service has confirmed it is looking into allegations of sexual misconduct and consumption of alcohol made against local celebrities by news website “mvyouth”.
In a report recently published on the website, Mvyouth accused seven local celebrities – actors, dancers, a singer, a fashion designer and a film director – of engaging in illegal activity at a Sri Lankan nightclub.
According to the website, four of their reporters traveled to Sri Lanka to confirm rumors about movie stars who frequently go to “party” there. The report says they followed the celebrities into a night club where they witnessed them getting drunk, dancing and being intimate, and kissing each other and other people at the club.
The Maldives penal code allows prosecution of crimes Maldivian citizens commit abroad. Kissing and sexual intimacy out of wedlock are considered as sexual offenses while consumption of alcohol is a hadd crime in shariah law, which guides the legal system in the country’s inhabited islands.
It also stated that some of the Maldivian group got into a fight, something the report described as “common among Maldivians who frequent nightclubs in Lanka”. While it mentioned several other Maldivians who were at the club, the celebrities remained the focus of the report.
Confirming that they are looking into the matter, police noted that they have not launched an investigation into the matter but will do so if it is required. Speaking to Minivan News, a police media official said that no one had lodged a complaint concerning the issue yet. However, since it has come to their attention they will now be looking in to the matter.
According to the report, mvyouth has evidence to back all its allegations. Confirming this, the website’s editor Musharraf Hassan said Mvyouth is fully prepared to defend themselves in court if they are to face defamation charges.
He said that a lot of Maldivians engage in such activity in Sri Lanka and mvyouth’s intention was to bring this to the attention of public.
“We want to inform the public on what Maldivians are up to when they are abroad. It is not specific to celebrities, a lot of Maldivians do such things”. Musharraf said.
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