Tag: crime

Malé City Council to bring back 24 hour shops and cafes

Malé City Council has decided to bring back the 24 hour service at cafes and shops, seventeen months after it was banned by Dr Mohamed Waheed’s government.

The proposition was passed unanimously by nine members present at yesterday’s council meeting (March 18), though the government has suggested that it does not have the authority to make such decisions.

Councilman Shamau Shareef said that the council decision came in response to a number of request from Malé City residents.

“This is what the people want. The former government discontinued the permissions to operate such places citing criminal activity and instability in the city. But now we have an elected government, and we think it should be reconsidered now,” said Shamau.

He noted that council have now been tasked with issuing trade permits for the city and it is in the council’s mandate under the Decentralisation Act to address this issue.

But the Ministry of Economic Development has today said that the issuing of trade permits was delegated to the council under a memorandum of understand with the ministry, which does not allow issuing 24 hour license.

“The government decided to end the running of 24 hour businesses. From that point the procedure for issuing trade permits were changed. City council have been tasked with issuing permits under those procedures,” the ministry’s Director General Usman Shakir was quoted as saying in Haveeru.

Shakir said that the government has not yet changed it’s position on allowing 24 hour businesses, and warned that the ministry will take action if any such permission is issued.

Responding to the ministry’s statement Councilman Shamau said that there are “some barriers” in implementing the decision, but the council is willing to overcome these issues by discussing it with the ministry.

“We will do whatever it takes. This is the capital city, and there are 24 hours ferries operating, people coming from other islands, people are working round the clock. There should be some way for them to eat or buy things they need. We are talking about basic necessities of the people,” he said.

President Mohamed Nasheed’s government decided to issue permits for 24 hour businesses in December 2010. After the change in government, Dr Mohamed Waheed’s administration in October 2012 decided to put an end to these opening hours.

The ministry’s official reason for decision was national security concerns. There was a high level of concern about increasing rates at the time, particularly with political instability and the murder of MP Dr Afrasheem Ali within the same month.

While it is not known whether the decision had any positive impact in reducing crime rates, the parliamentary national security committee at the time suggested impact it had was negative.

Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party at the time described the decision as an attack against small and medium businesses which ‘left thousands of people unemployed’. Resuming the permits was an election pledge of the party’s presidential candidate Mohamed Nasheed in 2013.

Ruling Progressive Party of Maldives was at the time a coalition member of the government, and President Abdulla Yameen was elected as president, the party has maintained support for the ban on 24 hours businesses.

When the permits were revoked in 2012 there were forty four businesses with permit in Malé city, now all shops have to be closed at 11pm and all cafes at 1am.

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Police arrest five for drug possession

Police arrested five young people yesterday (Monday 10) for possession of illicit narcotics.

The Maldives Police Service reported that they were a “22 year old, a 21 year old, an 18 year old and two 17 year olds, all locals”.

The Police Life website stated that they were taken in at 3:36pm on March 10 based on information which stated that these individuals were “involved in the trafficking and trade of illicit narcotics within the country”.

A search of their house revealed 80 cellophane packets of suspicious substances. The Drug Enforcement Department is investigating the matter further.

Police have made conducted a number of raids in recent weeks, with Home Minister Umar Naseer having vowed that the main target of his ministry for the next five years would be curbing drug-related crimes.

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Majlis committee to summon police for clarification on Alhan stabbing case

Parliament’s privileges committee has decided to summon police officers next Sunday to clarify details of how the investigation into the attack on Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Alhan Fahmy is proceeding.

Speaking to Minivan News, MDP MP Imthiyaz ‘Inthi’ Fahmy, who submitted the case to the committee, described the incident as a murder attempt.

Alhan was stabbed in Malé on February 1 while at the Breakwater cafe in the artificial beach area.

“It is a concern to the whole parliament,’’ Inthi said. “It undermined the privilege of all the MPs, that’s why I sent a letter to the committee.’’

He said that a meeting was held regarding the case, and the committee had decided to ask police to send officers who could provide details of the investigation.

Inthi noted that the police were not sharing information with the public as they did during the investigation into the October 2012 murder of Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Dr Afrasheem Ali.

“So under the right to information we need to clarify this information,’’ he said, adding that the meeting with the police had been scheduled for 1:30pm on Sunday February 16.

Similarly, a source within Alhan’s family – speaking to Minivan News on condition of anonymity – said that police had not been cooperative thus far.

“Twelve days have passed now and we have tried many different ways to get information on the investigation,’’ he said, adding that he was sure the arrested persons were the assailants.

The Criminal Court yesterday extended the detention period to fifteen days for the two suspects arrested in the case. A third suspect was arrested, but was released soon after.

The family member said today that there was now a small movement in his leg, though doctors were unsure how long it will for him to fully recover.

During the attack, Alhan received stab wounds to the back and was quickly flown to Sri Lanka for spinal surgery.

“He still cannot sit, stand or walk and can’t talk a lot because he does not have energy,’’ said the family member. “We are still discussing sending him to Singapore and we also sent the surgery report to the doctors in Singapore where they have said it was done well and there were no issues.’’

The attack was politically motivated and well organised, stated the source, who noted that Alhan’s car had been followed three days prior to the incident.

MPs condemning the attack earlier this month suggested it may have been carried out by powerful local gangs working on the orders of political paymasters.

The source said that Alhan might not be able to be actively involved in his campaign for re-election in the Feydhoo constituency, where he intends to run as an independent after losing what he claims was an unfair party primary.

Though the MP’s family were critical of the MDP’s decision not to repeat the primary vote, local media were told this week that Alhan would continue to promote the MDP’s policy and ideology if re-elected.

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Maldivian arrested for the crime of human trafficking

Police have arrested a 48 year old male from the island of Goidhoo in Baa Atoll on charges of engaging in the crime of human trafficking. In addition to him, seven expatriates were also arrested under the same case.

According to police, six of the seven expatriates had been working without work permits, and the remaining one had been in hiding from the sponsor who had initially brought him into the country.

The seven expatriates – who had previously lived on the island of Fehendhoo in Baa Atoll – had been taken to Goidhoo after a notice had been released to take them under police custody.

The trafficking arrest is the first made after the ratification of the Anti Human Trafficking Act last month.

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Police retrieve stolen US$10,000

Police have stated that they have retrieved USD 10,000 stolen from a guest room in Kanuhura Island Resort.

They stated that, while US$8,500 of the stolen money was found in a transport buggy on Monday evening, the remaining US$1500 was found hidden under a rock in front of guest rooms early today.

While police are continuing investigation of the matter, which was reported to them Tuesday afternoon, no related arrests have been made at the time of press.

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Two people arrested for engaging in illicit sexual acts

Police have arrested two persons on Tuesday night for engaging in illicit sexual activity.

Stating that they had raided Dream Relax Guesthouse in response to intelligence reports, police announced that they had caught the two persons while they were engaged in sexual activity.

The persons arrested are a 20 year old woman and a 25 year old man. In addition to catching them in the act, police stated that they had also discovered “additional material used for illicit sexual purposes” from the guesthouse.

The arrest happened ar 21:37pm on Tuesday, and police revealed that the woman was in a state of undress when they raided the guesthouse.

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Allegations of links to criminals dismissed as police celebrate SO Unit achievements

Commissioner of Police (CP) Hussain Waheed has dismissed as “absolutely baseless” allegations made by parliamentarians that the police had connections with criminals and the drug trade.

“The police force is not one that will encourage criminals or have ties with criminals who commit serious offences,” Waheed said at a new year celebration titled ‘SO Night’, held in Iskandhar Koshi on December 31 specifically for officers of the police’s Special Operations unit force.

He stated that, while the services of the police are widely accepted and appreciated by citizens, there have been recent instances where “some individuals have spread baseless rumours with the intention of damaging public trust in the forces”.

The event was held in order to celebrate the achievements of the force over the previous 12 months.

Waheed stated that he will not allow any persons to attempt to create rifts in the “strong and united force nor to damage the public trust in the tough work police conduct to maintain peace and stability in the community”.

Waheed stated that no one better knows the feelings of the public than the police, and that what the public most desire is a calm and peaceful community.

He called on the police to continue serving the people by working with a resolve to maintain a peaceful environment in the country.

Waheed promised the police forces that the leadership will develop infrastructure and human resource support within the year 2014.

Illicit drug trade and abuse

Assuring the public that police will continue to bring those involved in illicit drug trade and abuse to justice through courts of law, Waheed responded to allegations by some parliamentarians that the police were complicit in the drugs trade.

“The illicit drugs that we discover are safely under our care. Relevant authorities will know very well that such contraband are kept safely by us until the time comes to dispose of them as per the legal structure. There is also a mechanism through which one can inquire about the status of such contraband,” Waheed said.

“I am deeply saddened that even with such strong regulations around the matter, some people irresponsibly spread falsified rumours about the police force in a manner that will undermine the trust the public holds in us. There are also independent institutions that can conduct investigations should there be any police officer who is suspected of being involved in anything of the sort,” he expressed.

Allegations from parliamentarians

On December 29, 2013 Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Ibrahim Rasheed submitted an emergency motion to the parliament in regard to a stabbing incident which had occurred in the previous week.

Speaking in the parliamentary debate on the motion, members from the MDP and the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) accused the police of having ties with criminals, gangs, and drug dealers.

Among them, MDP MP Nazim described the police force as a “gang instead of an institution these days”, alleging that the force had dismissed sincere officers and replaced them with people who are accused of having committed serious offences.

CP Waheed, however, last night emphasized that the Special Operations Unit is the “most respected force within the police which all departments look up to”, speaking at last night’s event.

Special Operations Unit

“SO Night” is an annual event held to celebrate various achievements of the Special Operations Unit.

The event concluded with a presentation by the SO department of their achievements in the previous year.

This includes having provided technical support 219 times to various other police departments, controlling 57 public protests, and conducting 55 special operations and 23 trips to manage situations in the atolls.

The presentation also noted that in all their annual work, the SO had only made use of pepper-spray as a weapon, noting that it had been used a total of 55 times.

Among other statistics shared at the event, the SO unit stated that “in all of the year, 40 SO officers were summoned to the Police Integrity Commission and 2 SO officers were summoned to the Human Rights Commission. In handling the various situations, 50 SO officers suffered injuries of different levels”.

SO Department Head Chief Inspector Ahmed Shameem stated that the unit had not resorted to the use of rubber bullets or tear gas in controlling any of the situations that arose in 2013.

He stated that the unit had refrained from using these weapons, not because they did not have them, but because of their professionalism and their capability to deal with the situations in other ways.

Celebrating the work of SO officers who had contributed notably to the department’s work, certificates of appreciation were given to officers who were a part of a number of operations, among which a key activity is Operation Blue Wave – the security operation conducted during the 2013 presidential election.

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Case against man who assaulted wife and child of MP submitted to PG

The case against the Mohamed Najah, who attacked his sister and wife of MP Hussain Waheed and their 3 year old daughter with a knife, has been sent to the Prosecutor General’s office.

The 30 year old man assaulted the woman and child, beating them and stabbing the woman in the head and the child in the neck on November 5, 2013.

Najah has a previous record with multiple charges for drug abuse and assault.

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52 year-old man sentenced to 10 years for child sex abuse

Bileidhoo Magistrate Court on the island of Bileidhoo in Faafu Atoll has sentenced a 52 year-old man to 10 years for sexually abusing a minor.

Police identified the 52 year-old man as Hassan Zareer, 52 of Jeymugasdhoshuge in Bileidhoo, Faafu Atoll.

According to the police, on January 9, 2013, the Family and Children Services Centre in Faafu Atoll reported the case to police alleging that Zareer had sexually abuse a minor multiple times on different days.

Police said that during the trial Zareer denied the charges against him, however, the court ruled that the witness statements produced by the state, the report submitted by the Family and Children Services Centre in Faafu Atoll, the Medico Legal Report submitted by the state and the police investigation was enough to rule Zareer was guilty.

The court stated that all the documents produced to the court were official documents that can be considered as evidence according to the Act Number 12/2009 Special Measures Against Perpetrators of Child Sex Abuse.

Bileidhoo Magistrate Court’s ruling stated that the victim told her father and aunt about the incident and according to what the victim has said, Zareer has completed five elements of the crimes stated in the Act 12/2009.

The court also ruled that Zareer was guilty of the crime beyond reasonable doubt as stated in article 51[h] and Zareer was sentenced under article 3[c] of Act Number 12/2009.

Furthermore, the court advised Zareer to refrain from big and small acts of crimes and sins.

The police concluded the investigation in to the case and sent it to the Prosecutor General’s Office on 25 February 2013.

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