A 24-year-old man was stabbed to death around 10:00pm last night in the Henveiru ward of the capital Malé.
Eyewitnesses told Minivan News that Jailam Ahmed Shakir was stabbed numerous times by two men armed with machetes while he was sitting outside his house.
“I heard Jailam calling out for help and when I turned around I saw two men had grabbed him,” said Heera Adam, a neighbour.
“But the attackers had already stabbed him a lot of times. Jailam called out for me. He said ‘sister help me, take me away, they are trying to killing me.'”
According to witnesses, Jailam was carried to ADK Hospital in a pick-up truck shortly after the brutal attack. He was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital.
“[Jailam] had died even before he was brought to the hospital. He had a total of 12 wounds in his body including his neck, stomach, back, arms and calf’s. The most serious was the wound on his neck, which was very deep and that prevented blood circulation,” explained ADK Hospital Spokesperson Ahmed Affal.
Police are yet to make an arrest in relation to Jailam’s murder, but said the case was under investigation.
Since 2001, Maldives has seen 42 murders including Jailam’s, which comes two months after Ahmed Mafaz, 28, was killed last December.
“Full of hope”
Speaking with Minivan News today, Jailam’s mother said he was “a youth full of hope” for a brighter future.
“He was a recovering addict. I had made all the arrangements for him to be admitted in a rehab in Bangalore. I told him yesterday that that all the arrangements had been made and he said he is ready and that he doesn’t want to be in Malé anymore,” revealed Jailam’s mother, who had recently returned from India.
She recalled that Jailam woke up around 11:00am yesterday and asked his mother to make him lunch.
“He loved my cooking and he loved it when I prepare his dish. He came around six in the evening to eat. I had made him dhal curry.”
She noted that Jailam was very close to her and had often expressed it physically.
“Day before the murder Jailam had seen me on the road and came and hugged me. He told me how much he loved me and asked me what I would do without him,” she said.
Although he was an addict and had been unemployed, Jailam’s mother insisted that he did not bother anyone.
“He would just be himself and get on with what he liked. He would always be singing,” she said.
Jailam, the youngest of three siblings, was a music enthusiast and had recorded a few songs, one dedicated to his parents who live separately.
“He said he had recorded a song for me and his father because we are separated,” his mother said.
Commissioner of Police Hussain Waheed condemned the violence taking place in the capital last night, assuring police’s capability of tackling crime.
“The police are fully capable and will skillfully control the mob who are trying to disrupt the peace around Male’ City,” the commissioner wrote on his official Facebook page.
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