Tag: maldives

Tourists and crew unhurt in safari boat reef collision

No injuries have been reported after a safari boat yesterday collided with a reef in Maldivian waters, military officials have confirmed.
Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) spokesperson Colonel Abdul Raheem said that crew and tourists aboard the crashed vessel had since been transferred to another diving boat.  The MNDf spokesperson said he was unsure as yet if the boat had been removed from the reef where it collided.
The Sun Online news agency reported that the collision occurred yesterday evening within the reef of  K. Fushidhiggaru and involved a boat called the Royal Manta.  According to the report, 23 tourists and 15 crew were on-board the vessel at the time of the crash.
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Government seeking international PR firm to counter negative publicity, “rally alliance of support”

Additional reporting by Neil Merrett and Zaheena Rasheed.

The new Maldivian government is in the process of recruiting an international public relations firm to counter negative publicity and “gain understanding and public acknowledgement of the Maldives from the international community.”

Minivan News obtained a request for proposals (RFP) document issued by the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) on April 9, outlining the government’s media strategy and seeking a company to provide “strategic counsel”, “stakeholder engagement”, “proactive” media relations and “key message and storybook development”.

Objectives for the three month contract, bids for which close on April 14, include boosting tourism confidence, improving the image of the Maldives, and demonstrating the government’s “commitment to strengthening democracy and sustainable development”.

The successful agency will be required to target stakeholders in the UK, USA, Commonwealth countries, “all relevant EU institutions”, academic institutions and NGOs, “arrange 1:1 meetings with influential and open minded potential champions”, and “arrange briefings to build links at various levels with the UK, US, Commonwealth and major European governments.”

The agency will “feed in academic arguments to those identified”, and “determine champions who are willing to speak publicly on Maldives”, in a bid to “Rally an alliance of support for the Maldives”.

Locally, the chosen company will be required to “assist with the roll out of policy and other announcements to media, parliamentarians,government, NGOs and others.”

The successful bidder will be required to develop “key messages, including facts and proof points” concerning “events surrounding the recent incidents in Maldives”, pushing the “core platforms of democracy and sustainable development.”

The MMPRC will task the agency to “Begin the process of developing relationships with key journalists who are friendly and receptive”, and “Provide avenues for proactively seeding positive stories”.

“One to two high profile, credible and friendly” journalists would be targeted for “1:1 relationships”, while a press trip of 3-5 reporters would be arranged before June.

The agency should furthermore “Ensure inaccuracies in coverage are corrected immediately to avoid pick-up and further dissemination” and “help provide balance to negative stories”.

President Mohamed Waheed Hassan’s Spokesperson, Abbas Adil Riza, said he was unaware the government was seeking to retain an international PR firm.

“I think it’s a good idea if we lack capacity to do it in the country,” he suggested.

Negative media coverage was “tarnishing the image of the Maldives”, Riza said, “because the former President [Mohamed Nasheed] is not getting what he wants.”

Such an agency should “lobby the press, make sure they report what actually happened,” Riza recommended.

“The MDP burned down buildings in acts of terrorism. We must expose the MDP for what it is. It is not democratic,” he said.

Deputy Minister of Tourism, Mohamed Maleeh Jamal, said the MMPRC had been recruiting PR agents in several countries, including Germany and the UK.

“The main focus right now is increasing investor confidence. We have to include all fronts include economic angles,” he said. “There has been a barrage of international media coverage and we need to try to convert this interest into positive coverage.”

Negative media coverage of Maldivian political strife had particularly impacted emerging markets, Jamal said. “We’ve a trend of delayed bookings from China, the Middle East and Africa – emerging markets,” he said, adding that traditional markets, such as Germany and France, had been largely unaffected.

Jamal said he was unaware of the responses to the April 9 RFP: “That’s at a technical level. I’m not involved.”

Public relations in the Maldives

Politicians in the opposition parties under Nasheed’s government, including Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) leader Dr Hassan Saeed (now advisor to the President), have previously used the London-based Campaign Company.

Chief Executive of the Campaign Company, Graeme Wilson, told Minivan News this week that “We have no relationship with the Maldivian government”.

According to former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, founder of the Campaign Company, Jonathan Upton, visited the Maldives in 2011 and recommended that leader of the Dhivehi Rayithunge Party (DRP), Ahmed Thasmeen Ali, sideline the former President- then the DRP’s ‘Honorary Leader’.

“[Upton] did not have any idea of the views of the Maldivian people and the political situation of the Maldives. His recommendation to keep me aside, without knowing the support of the majority of the Maldivian people as they have seen the development and changes during my presidency, was not a politically mature recommendation,” Gayoom wrote, in a 12 page open-letter published in March 2011 outlining Thasmeen’s alleged leadership failings.

“You are showing characteristics that cannot be prevented after being deceived by the words of people who are unaware of the political scenario of this country,” Gayoom wrote.

The Campaign Company had been engaged by Gayoom “to build his party and advise on how to manage and develop the DRP”, foreign minister under Gayoom and Nasheed, Dr Ahmed Shaheed, told Minivan News in June 2011.

In 2010, Dr Hassan Saeed used the Campaign Company during a PR tour of UK to meet MPs and journalists, representing the opposition coalition.

During the visit, Minivan News obtained an email exchange with a lobbyist then contracted by the Campaign Company, Peter Craske, soliciting a meeting between the recipient and the DQP, “which is formed of an alliance between the DRP and MDP parties”. Craske subsequently apologised for the error, and noted that the email did not result in any meetings.

Hill & Knowlton leads Maldives’ democratic reform

Another PR firm, New York-headquartered Hill & Knowlton (H&K), was commissioned by Gayoom in 2003 and subsequently recommended – and in some cases implemented – most of the pre-2008 democratic reform in the Maldives.

H&K’s report on the Maldives, titled ‘Issues audit and communications strategy for the Government of the Maldives’, revealed that the firm was responsible for much of the human rights and governance reform that paved the way for the country’s first democratic election in 2008.

The vast majority of recommendations in the report were subsequently implemented, portraying Gayoom as mellowing in the lead up to 2008 following the autocratic excesses of his 30 year rule.

H&K’s recommendations included the separation of the security forces into police, military and correctional institutions, constitutional reform and the introduction of multi-party democracy, strategies for the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM), reform of the Majlis, reform of the criminal justice system, including an end to the practice of flogging, and even the introduction of religious freedom.

“Expectations have now been raised and presidential promises made; the delivery of meaningful reform is now required,” H&K said in 2003.

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Indian national commits suicide in police custody, High Commission raises expatriate concerns

Investigations are continuing into the suicide yesterday of a 39 year-old Indian national in police custody, while the Indian High Commission today raised concerns about the treatment of some expatriates in the Maldives.

The deceased, identified by the Indian High Commission as Scariakutty Kalarikkal Yoyakim, was being held in custody on the island of Dhoonidhoo for the alleged assault of another couple with whom he had been living. Yoyakim had been employed by Crown Company and was living in the same property as the couple, as well as his wife, according to the High Commission. He is also thought to have been in the country with his son and brother.

Police Spokesperson Ahmed Haneef told Minivan News that the man was believed to have taken his life yesterday evening at about 6:50pm, though further details were unavailable at present as investigations were continuing.

Haneef said that the man may have used something to tie around his neck that would allow him to commit suicide inside the cell, but would not confirm any details until police concluded their report.

‘’Today at about 1:00pm in the afternoon his body was sent back to his country in compliance with a request from the deceased’s family,’’ he said.

Condolence gathering

The Indian High Commission confirmed that it had held a condolence gathering for Yoyakim at 5:00pm today, with 50 people in attendance. The meeting included prayers as well as a minute’s silence for the deceased, according to organisers.

A spokesperson for the commission told Minivan News that it was unaware of the nature of the man’s suicide, though the Commission understood police investigations into the death were continuing.

When contacted about the incident, Indian High Commissioner Dynaneshwar Mulay was unable to provide any additional details regarding the case. However, he did raise some concerns over the general treatment of Indian expatriates in the Maldives by the country’s police and judiciary.

Mulay claimed that alongside concerns about the treatment of some Indian expatriates in relation to the law, there were significant issues relating to “basic human rights” that needed to be addressed concerning expatriates from countries including Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Mulay’s comments follow an attack last week on a Indian resort worker, who was reported to have been attacked with a hammer and mugged while staying in a hotel in Male’.  The attack was allegedly committed by a former employee of the same resort.

The victim, identified by India’s Express News Service as 24 year-old Ramakrishnan Sadanandan from Thiruvananthapuram, was reportedly attacked at 2:30pm on March 31 while staying at a local guest house in the capital.

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ACC appeals court ruling on Nexbis case

The Anti-Corruption Commission has appealed the Civil Court’s ruling against the commission’s decision to terminate border control system contracted to Malaysia’s Nexbis Limited in November 2010.

The court ruled in January 2011, that ACC does not have the legal authority to order the Department of Immigration and Emigration to terminate the project agreement.

ACC filed a court case against the Rf500 million (US$39 million) Nexbis system in November 2011, two days after cabinet decided to resume the project. The decision contradicted ACC’s  earlier command to terminate the existing agreement with Nexbis and re-tender the project with the cabinet’s consent.

In 2010, the ACC announced it had received “a serious complaint” regarding “technical details” of the bid, and issued an injunction pending an investigation into the agreement citing “instances and opportunities” where corruption may have occurred.

After the investigation, the commission deemed the procedure of awarding the project to Nexbis was corrupt, and ordered the Immigration Department to terminate the project.

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Mega Maldives aims to double number of passengers in 2012

Mega Maldives airlines has today announced plans to more than double the number of passengers it carries this year. The airline flew 31,000 people in its maiden year and plans to hit 70,000 in 2012.

The airline now links the Gan and Ibrahim Nasir airports in the Maldives to four destinations in China. Last year China overtook the United Kingdom to became the biggest tourism market for the Maldives, comprising 15 percent of all arrivals according to Tourism Ministry statistics.

There were fears that the Chinese market had been worried by the political unrest in the country after passenger numbers dropped in February. Some Mega Maldives charter flights were cancelled but a full schedule was resumed earlier this month.

The company held a ceremony welcoming its new cabin crew. Haveeru reports that this brings the total number of staff to 200, of which 60 percent are local. Chief Executive George Weinmann last month told the New York Times that he expected the company’s number of flights between China and the Maldives will have reached 34 by June of this year.

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Adhaalath Party requests Education Ministry cancel inter-school singing competition

The Adhaalath Party has requested the Education Ministry cancel the Maldives’ inter-school singing competition due to be held this year for the first time in six years, claiming that singing was haram in Islam.

Vice President of the party’s Scholars Council, Ilyas Abdulatheef, sent letters to Villa TV, the state broadcaster Television Maldives (TVM) and the Education Minister Dr Asim Ahmed.

In the letter to the Education Minister, the Adhaalath Party stated that music and singing were haram in Islam according to trusted Islamic scholars, and that the Adhaalath Party was concerned that some TV stations were planning an Inter-school Singing Competition to be held between school students under the watch of Education Ministry.

The party expressed concern about the competition and urged the ministry “stop such un-Islamic activities.’’

Another letter was sent to TVM Chief Executive Officer Mohamed Asif and VTV Chairman Ameen Ibrahim.

In both letters, the Adhaalath Party stated that the party was concerned about the singing competition and urged them to cancel it.

The Education Minister, VTV and TVM were also sent research on music and singing in Islam attached with the letter.

The Adhaalath Party was one of the coalition partners that in 2008 joined Mohamed Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) to defeat former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

The current President of the Adhaalath Party, Sheikh Imran Abdulla, was very critical of the MDP and joined a coalition with former opposition parties that led to the ousting of the MDP on February 7.

That followed the breaking of its coalition agreement with the MDP on September 27 last year, after the party’s consultation council voted 32 to 2 to approve a resolution to break the coalition.

The party claimed that the Nasheed’s government had ignored “sincere advice and suggestion”, and that the party was forced to stage street protests “to put a stop to serious matters related to the country’s religion and sovereignty.”

Among the 28 main points noted in the resolution included rising inflation under Nasheed’s administration, refusal to reimburse amounts deducted from civil servants salaries, failure to alleviate the persisting dollar shortage, appointing unqualified “activists” to manage government corporations, and insufficient measures against corruption in the government.

The Adhaalath Party then claimed the former government was “making secret deals with Israel in the name of the people and pursuing relations with Israel to an extent that threatens the nation’s independence and sovereignty.”

Moreover, the Adhaalath party accused the then-government of agreeing to “let Israel influence the country’s educational curriculum.”

Among government decisions strongly contested by the party, the resolution also referred to a proposal to make Dhivehi and Islam optional subjects in higher secondary education and reclaiming a land plot awarded to the Islamic College (Kulliya).

The final eight points included the use of force against protesting parents of Arabiyya school students, senior government diplomats expressing concern with Maldivian students going to Arabic or Islamic countries for studies, publishing regulations allowing sale of alcohol to non-Muslims in inhabited islands, and insufficient cooperation with the Islamic Ministry’s efforts to close down brothels.

Adhaalath Party member Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed, now the Islamic Minister, was not responding to calls at time of press.

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Training concerns raised as MBC cuts political content from state broadcasts

The Maldives Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) this week announced a temporary halt to all political programming on state media outlets, amidst debate over the need for more independent and informative public broadcasting.

Speaking to local media, MBC Chair Ibrahim Umar Manik claimed that all political programmes on Television Maldives (TVM) and radio broadcaster Voice of Maldives (VOM) would be stopped until both organisations better understood their public service role and could provide “intellectually debatable programs”.

Manik, who was unavailable for comment when contacted by Minivan News at the time of going to press, told Sun Online that “foreign groups” were currently training TVM and VOM staff to overcome challenges in operating as a public service broadcaster. Both broadcasters are reportedly set to instead air dramas and other “social programs” in place of political content, though the “Raajje Miadhu” evening show is still expected to deal with the day’s major headlines.

Local media bodies, as well as politicians, have complained that state broadcasting under both Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Mohamed Nasheed and Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan’s administrations had been traditionally run for political and commercial benefit rather than as a public service.

Legal battles

The MBC has been previously involved in a protracted legal battle against former President Mohamed Nasheed’s administration over whether the executive – via the Maldives National Broadcasting Corporation (MNBC) – or parliament should have responsibility for overseeing state media.

The MNBC was established by Nasheed to run the state media, removing its employees from the jurisdiction of the Civil Service Commission (CSC). In 2010, the then-opposition majority parliament created MBC and demanded the transfer of MNBC’s assets to the new body, which Nasheed’s government refused to do, alleging political partiality on behalf of the MBC board.

Following the controversial transfer of power that saw President Mohamed Waheed Hassan take office in February, MBC was granted control of TVM and VOM.

Informative focus

Despite this politicking over the control of state media, Maldives Media Council (MMC) President Mohamed Nazeef told Minivan News today that he hoped the MBC’s initiative to rethink public service programming would ensure greater informative and education programming on social issues.

“They [the MBC] are trying to do this, but I believe we need a change of mind set,” he said. “The problem they [state media] has is not so much about politicised thinking, but in having a proper knowledge of how public service broadcasting functions,” he said.

Taking the example of commercial broadcasters in the Maldives, Nazeef said that programmes were focused almost entirely on providing entertainment rather than informative and educational content – something he believed was also the case for the country’s state broadcasters as well.

He claimed that as a result of this focus on entertainment, political programs in the country had traditionally focused on bringing together two rival politicians to confront each other rather than on informing the public about issues such as democratic reform, human rights or public health.

From the perspective of the MMC, Nazeef claimed that local public service broadcasters did not presently have sufficient training to operate under a manner expected of non-commercial media organisations, such as providing a greater emphasis on educational content.

He therefore urged caution over the reforms, adding that the MMC hoped to see a greater focus by the MBC on providing training for finding stories and issues concerning social development.

“Democracy came overnight [following the presidential elections of 2008]. People really needed to be educated on what exactly this meant for society,” he said. “ State media should pay much more of a role in informing people.”

“Propaganda machine”

Nazeef said he believed that since its inception, state media, whether in the guise of TVM, or the re-branded MNBC during Nasheed’s presidency, was continuously run more as a “propaganda machine” and commercial outlet than a state broadcaster.

Beyond covering political developments, Nazeef said he hoped that more training and focusses would be provided to cover issues related to health and human rights.

“At present, you do not find awareness programmes in the Maldives media,” he claimed. “Training is definitely needed in how to find these kinds of stories.”

Training calls

The Maldives Journalist Association (MJA) President Hiriga Ahmed Zahir concurred that training was needed to help both TVM and VOM adapt to becoming more public service-orientated broadcasters, as well as opting for political impartiality.  However, he claimed that deep rooted partisan thinking posed significant challenges in allowing for more independent coverage on the issues affecting the public.

To this end, Hiriga said he understood that the MBC had temporarily suspended political programming in an attempts to try and have more issue based programming on both TVM and VOM, particularly for important national issues like dealing with dengue fever.

He claimed that he was therefore broadly in favour of the proposed move by the MBC to adopt a more public service-orientated broadcast model.

“I believe it’s not bad actually. At the moment there is no choice to see any other kind of programs, so there should be much more of a focus on public issues,” he said. “My point is that public broadcasters should not just have programs about politics.”

Hiriga accepted that in the long-term, public broadcasting needed to deal with political issues affecting the nation, but this needed to be handled in a different way to how he believed the state had informed its citizens in the past.

“Certainly there should be more independent and liberal minded people in state media,” he said.

However, Hiriga claimed that ensuring independent political coverage in the country was extremely difficult for journalists in the Maldives due to the partisan politics that often divides the nation down party lines on many issues.

“Most journalists are strong believers on either side of the country’s political divide. This makes it difficult for them to produce stories independently and more training is needed in this area,” he said.

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) spokespersons Hamid Abdul Ghafoor and Imthiyaz Fahmy could not be contacted by Minivan News at the time of press regarding the party’s view of the proposed changes to state broadcasting.

However, on March 11 this year, the party announced its intentions to lodge a complaint against the current practices of the Maldives Broadcasting Corporation’s (MBC) state media outlets, alleging that it was broadcasting “blatant propaganda”.

In the letter, the MDP accused the MBC of violating the agreements mandated by the Public Broadcasting Services (PBS) Act of August 2010 by producing biased content and not giving adequate exposure to all political groups.

Last month, Minivan News reported on some of the challenges said to be hampering independent reporting and free media in the country.

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MDP alleges police intimidation before Thimarafushi poll

The Election Commission has received complaints about police preparations for the Thaa Atoll Thimarafushi Constituency by-election although Commissioner Fuad Thaufeeq, who describes the competition as “heavy”, remains confident the poll will be a success.

Mohamed Musthafa, the disqualified Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) member seeking re-election in the Thimarafushi by-election this Saturday, has questioned the actions of the police, alleging attempts to intimidate locals and prevent MDP supporters casting their votes following the arrest of seven people on the island.

“Lots of things are happening, they are arresting our boys. I heard they will hold them for three days so they cannot vote,” said Musthafa.

“Several people who were at the MDP jagaha went to PPM jagaha and created a disturbance and were non-compliant with the police. Seven people were arrested following the incident. One person tested positive for alcohol, while three others refused to provide urine,” said Haneef.

Haneef said police have made their preparations for the poll and have deployed the necessary officers. When asked about the precise numbers he said that it would depend on the intelligence received from the island.

Musthafa warned that the police presence on the island had intimidated locals, particularly after recent arrests, which he argued were without good cause. He alleged that one of the young men arrested on Tuesday received a head wound after a police officer pushed his head into a wall.

The MDP candidate also claimed that the police presence on the island of around 3000 people has gone from less than ten officers to well over one hundred baton-armed riot officers.

“This is the worst election we have ever seen, in 30 years. They are threatening people but they can’t buy our hearts and minds,” said Musthafa.

Muthafa was forced to step down from his constituency seat in February following a High Court ruling stating that his debts disqualified him from holding office. The debt has since been paid and he is confident of success on Saturday: “I will be there in Parliament next week.”

The case was brought by Umar Naseer, Interim Vice-President of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM). Musthafa’s opponent on Saturday is Ahmed Shareef of the PPM.

Visiting the island this week, Election Commissioner Fuad Thaufeeq met both candidates. He acknowledged the receipt of some complaints relating to police activities and said that the necessary steps would be taken.

Thaufeeq also met with the local head of police who assured him that the police were working only to ensure that the island was safe during the polls.

The Election Commissioner stated that the police presence had been enhanced due to problems with the 2009 parliamentary elections which eventually prompted a second poll to be taken: “We don’t want that to happen again.”

Significant polls

Election Commissioner Thaufeeq reiterated that the Election Commission was fully prepared for the poll, the first of its kind since the resignation of President Mohamed Nasheed on February 7.

“The Elections Commission is ready. We are sending teams out to the islands today. They are formed from local personnel and will work with selected officers. The head of the polling station will be from the Election Commission,” said Thaufeeq. “We will have a successful vote on Saturday.”

The capabilities of the Election Commission have come under scrutiny in recent weeks after the government had maintained that free and fair elections cannot be carried out in the country due to institutional weaknesses.

Both the Commonwealth and the European Union have urged the current government to hold fresh presidential elections as soon as possible. In The United States last week pledged US$500,000 dollars in technical assistance aid to begin an elections programme.

The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) is due to meet next week to discuss the progress that has been made towards resolving the political impasse in the country.

Despite this State Minister for Foreign Affairs, and daughter of former President Maumoon Gayoom, Dunya Maumoon told the BBC recently that due to the weakness of institutions such as the judiciary, the Election Commission, and the Human Rights Commission (HRCM), the elections could not be held in the “in the foreseeable future”.

Speaking last week, Thaufeeq said, “We are confident we can organise any election mandated by law – whether it is a presidential election, referendum, or by-election. We will serve our duty.”

Saturday will also see a parliamentary election for the Kaafu Atoll Kaashidhoo Constituency, as well as elections for the vacant seats in both Thaa Atoll Gaadhiffushi Island council and Haa Dhaal Atoll Kumundhoo island council.

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Record high convictions of child sex offenders in Ugoofaaru court

The magistrate court on the Ungoofaaru island of Raa atoll has sentenced a  man to 15 years imprisonment for sexually abusing his step daughter.

He was also found guilty of possession of pornographic images and sentenced to additional four months in jail.

The man was arrested from Maduvaree island and charged under the Use of Special Procedures in Dealing with Child Abusers Act which stipulates strict punishments for persons found guilty of sexually abusing children.

Ungoofaru magistrate court has a notable record in convicting child sex offenders from Raa Atoll, which has a population of nearly 20,000 on 16 different inhabited islands.

In a press statement released Monday,  the Maldives Police Service noted that last year Ugoofaaru court had convicted eight people in relation to 10 different child abuse cases.

In February 2011, the court sentenced a man from the island of Kinolhas to 10 years in prison for abusing a 12 year-old disabled girl, and another man from Ugoofaaru was sentenced in April to 10 years imprisonment for sexually abusing a 17 year old girl.

A man from Rasmaadhoo was found guilty of sexually abusing his step daughters aged 12 and 14 for several years. He was sentenced to 15 years in jail while in a similar case a man from Alifushi was sentenced to 20 years in jail for sexually abusing his 17  year old daughter on multiple occasions.

Ungoofaaru court had also sentenced a man from capital Male’  to 20 years imprisonment after he was  found guilty of threatening his 15 year old daughter with a knife and sexually abusing her. His wife from Maakurathu was meanwhile sentenced to six months in jail for hiding her husband’s crime, while another man who had given strong medicine to the 15 year old girl was fined up Rf 200 (US$13).

In October, the court sentenced a man from Kandolhudhoo island for sexually abusing a 13 year old boy and later had that month also sentenced a man from Inamaadhoo island for sexually abuing an 11 year old girl.

The police observed that all cases were investigated by the Ungoofaaru police station in partnership with the Family and Children Centre on the island.

According to the Gender Department, a total of between December 2010 and October 2011, 1,138 cases of child abuse were reported to from atoll family and children service centres. A total of 1,005 cases involved minors while 133 cases involved victims aged 18 and above.

Approximately a third of the 81 cases involving children less than one year-old involved neglect. Sexual abuse was reported in a quarter of the 192 cases for age group one to five, and in a fifth of the 230 cases age group five to ten.

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