Mohamed Waheed of Maafanu Goalwich, accused of murdering his girl friend’s eight-month old child in June 2009, has been freed by the Criminal Court on the grounds that the Prosecutor General’s Office (PG) failed to prove he committed the crime during the two year long trial.
Judge Abdullah Didi who heard the case concluded today that Waheed refuted the murder charge, while no substantial evidence was provided to the court by PG to prove that Waheed had caused any harm to the child.
The Judge noted that in cases such as this, the prosecutors must prove the alleged party is guilty “beyond reasonable doubt” and since enough evidence was not presented, the court acquitted Waheed.
However, the baby’s mother, Noorzaadha Ali of Addu Atoll Hithadhoo, was sentenced to six months imprisonment in April 2011 for negligence.
Ali was not herself charged with murder, although the court ruled that she was in violation of elements of the Penal Code.
According to local media, the presiding judge said at the time that the suspect had not vaccinated the baby, taken proper care to clean the child, and failed to explain internal and external injuries to her child.
On the basis of these findings, the judge declared that Nooruzaadha had neglected her duties as a mother.
The eight-month-old baby boy died in the intensive care unit of Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) in June 2009.
Three suspects were arrested in connection with allegations that he had been physically and sexually abused. These suspects included the victim’s mother, then 28; her boyfriend Mohamed Waheed, then 46 and from Male’; and a third man whose identity has not yet been revealed.
Addressing media at the time, Inspector Hamdhoon Rasheed, head of the police investigation unit, said initial test results revealed the baby had extensive injuries. The examination also revealed signs of sexual abuse.
Rasheed said the boy had suffered head and neck injuries, and was covered in scratches. The hospital reported the case to police after Waheed took the baby in for medical care.
Nooruzaadha has a long history of criminal activity, according to both police and the prosecutor general’s office.
She was arrested twice in 2002, once for sexual misconduct and the second time for prostitution, said Deputy Prosecutor General Hussein Shameem.
She was sentenced to eight months house arrest for the first offence, which she breached, and six months imprisonment for the second.
The same year, she was put under house arrest for disobedience of order, which she violated and was fined Rf150 (US$12). In 2006, she was arrested on the same charge and was ordered to spend two months in jail.
In 2004, Nooruzaadha was handed a six-year sentence for possession of drugs and in 2005 and 2007, she was given two 12-year sentences on each occasion for drug possession.
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