The Criminal Court on Sunday sentenced a man to one year imprisonment for refusing to submit a urine sample to police.
The verdict marks the first time a person was convicted for the offence since the new drug law came into force on December 31, 2011.
Ali Abdulla, of Hulhumale’ flat 10g 4, was arrested in a drug-related case on May 14 and refused to submit a urine sample to police.
He was sentenced under article 123(b) of the Drug Act (Dhivehi), which states that refusing to submit a urine sample when arrested on drug-related charges is a crime punishable by a one year jail term.
Following a police special operation in November that saw two MPs arrested from an uninhabited island in Haa Dhaal atoll on suspicion of drug use and alcohol consumption, police said individuals who refused to undergo a urine examination could face prosecution.
Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP for Kaashidhoo Abdullah Jabir and MP for Henveiru-South Haamid Abdul Ghafoor, former President Nasheed’s Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair, his wife Mariyam Faiza, and former President Nasheed’s Chief Advisor Ibrahim Hussain Zaki, allegedly refused to cooperate with police in the urine testing procedure.
Meanwhile, police sent cases of two individuals aged 23 and 39 who refused to provide urine samples to the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) in December.
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