Tag: noonu atoll

House burns to ground in Gaaf dhaal Vaadhoo

A house in Gaaf Dhaal Atoll Vaadhoo was consumed by fire last evening while its owner was out fishing.

Island Council President Mohamed Waheed told local media that all that remained of the two-room house after neighbors extinguished the fire were the walls.

The cause of the fire is yet to be determined, however police are investigating the incident.

The incident is the fifth case of possible arson to be reported in the last three weeks.

Early on the morning of December 26 a car belonging to a group of American scientists was set on fire in Addu. Locals observed that it was the first time such an event had taken place in the area, while council officials wondered whether the act was a result of rising religious tensions in the days since the December 23 protests for Islam.

Two days later, Noonu Atoll Miladhoo island council office was burned to the ground in what police suspected was an arson attack. Speaking to Minivan News at the time of the incident, Council President Hussain Ghassan said the council had received “several threats” from some people unhappy with the council, of which a majority sides with opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP).

On January 2, 2012, police arrested one suspect but did not provide details.

On the evening of January 3, a furnished but uninhabited house in Thaa Atoll Thimarafushi caught fire. Police said they suspected arson as there was evidence of an attempted break-in.

On January 4, the engine of a boat en route to Male’ from Kulhudhufushi carrying 175 passengers caught fire near Aarah in Male’ Atoll. Two passengers were injured.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

20-year-old man arrested for secretly filming girls in shower

Police have arrested an islander of Manadhoo in Noonu Atoll after he allegedly filmed three young girls living in the island while they were showering inside their house bathroom.

A Police spokesperson told Minivan News that the man arrested was 20 year sold.

”Police received reports that there has been some videos of girls captured and we questioned the suspect,” he said. ”He was arrested after police got enough evidence that the allegations could be true.”

He said police searched other houses in the island following the incident.

”He is currently under arrest in detention,” he said.

Minivan News understands that the girls filmed were three underage girls.

Manadhoo Council President Ibrahim Naseer told Minivan News that the young man had placed camera inside the bathrooms of the girls’ houses.

He said the videos were captured on different days and that all the videos were found stored in his computer.

Naseer told the media that the videos were first seen by the man’s brother.

In October last year a similar incident occurred on Filladhoo in Haa Alifu Atoll where the police arrested three youths on the island after they allegedly recorded and released explicit footage of islanders bathing with spy cameras.

Islanders told the police at the time that the suspects had deliberately targeted adolescent girls at the local school, with one of the videos reportedly showing a 17-year-old girl having a shower.

The bathrooms of many local houses on islands are traditionally unroofed, however following last year’s incident a number of islanders have begun roofing their bathrooms, reports indicate.

The three youths were arrested after nude videos of girls from the island were found on a hard disk.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Police arrest arson suspect in Miladhoo fire case

Police have arrested a suspect in the arson attack on Noonu atoll Miladhoo island council office last week.

Police confirmed the arrest, however they did not give any further details as the investigation is ongoing.

Local newspaper Haveeru identified the arson suspect as Mohamed Aboobakuru, aged 45, of Kashmeeruvaadhee in Miladhoo.

The fire, which was reported on the early morning of December 28, wreaked extensive damage on the Miladhoo council office and the adjacent island court.

President of the Miladhoo island council Hussain Ghassan earlier told Minivan News that the had received “several threats” from some people unhappy with the council, of which a majority sides with opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP).

“Some even threatened to burn down the office”, he said.

Ghassan reported that the council work has been halted due to the incident and they are looking for a new office to continue work.

However, he said it would be difficult to proceed as “all the paperwork, furniture and other items were lost to the fire”. The damage would cost the council around Rf 1 million (US$65,000), he added.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Styrofoam incubator “an alternative method”, says atoll hospital

Manager of Noonu Atoll hospital Mohamed Najeeb has said that carrying a baby inside a styrofoam box in certain circumstances was not a big issue, and had been used in the previous years as an alternative method to transfer babies in critical conditions when an incubator was unavailable.

Last week some doctors criticised Noonu Atoll Hospital after doctors at the hospital transferred a newborn baby in a critical medical condition to Male’ inside a styrofoam box, because the hospital did not have an incubator.

“In past years in several workshops they taught us this method and said it could be used as an alternative when an incubator was unavailable,” Najeeb said. “We know of two methods that could be used in situations like this: one is to wrap the baby with cloth while transferring him, or to carry him inside a box,’’ Najeeb told Minivan News. ‘’The towel method was not fit for the baby’s situation because the baby was having seizures.’’

He said the baby was sent to Male’ with oxygen and nurses from Noonu Atoll Hospital, and the hospital decided to use the box method to maintain the infant’s temperature because they were travelling a speedboat and the winds would be high.

He also said that when dealing with such cases the method has been proven to be suitable, adding that the baby was transferred to Male’ without his condition deteriorating.

“The latest I heard about the baby was that Indira Gandi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) had asked the baby’s parents to take him abroad for more treatment,’’ Najeeb said.

Director General of Health Services Dr Ibrahim Yasir meanwhile said the Health Ministry was investigating the case.

“The situation does not appear to be abnormal, the doctor has even advised that a styrofoam box can be a suitable substitute for an incubator,” Dr Yasir said.

“There is shortage of incubators, which is being considered in the investigation. We are trying to find out if the doctor’s recommendation can be approved.”

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Noonu Atoll Office bans staff from Facebook

The Noonu Atoll Office has issued a notice to all staff members banning from using social networking services such as Facebook during office hours.

Online newspaper Manadhoo Live, based in Noonu Atoll, reported that the issue was raised when a female staff member working in the office published a comment against a candidate running for Manadhoo Council in the upcoming Local Council Elections.

However head of the Noonu Atoll Office, Abdulla Abdul Wahid, told Minivan News that the restriction on social networks was not related to the issue.

”We just want our staffs to follow the Civil Servants’ code of conduct,” said Abdulla. ”We have noticed that many staff working in the office have been ignoring office work by getting involved in social networks.”

He said that staffs were using social networks during office hours rather than getting involved with their work.

”Maybe whoever said [the ban] was related to the issue of publishing a comment relating to the candidate thought we restricted access social network because it happened at the same time,” he said, ”but it’s not really because of that. Staff have been spending too much time on Facebook instead of doing their work.”

He said the notice was issued according to the Civil Servants’ regulations, which stated that the internet access in the workplace should only be used for office purposes.

Receptionists and officials at the Human Resources department of the Noonu Atoll office refused to comment on the issue.

Social media adoption in the Maldives is prodigious, particularly Facebook, with almost a third of the country’s population signed up to the service. According to statistics from Facebook, the Maldives has 89,460 registered users – two thirds of whom are male. Almost half Maldivian Facebook users are aged under 18.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Police arrest man on Noonu Atoll for sexually abusing daughter

A man has been arrested in Noonu Atoll for alleged sexual abuse of his 15 year-old daughter.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam confirmed that a man was arrested in Noonu Atoll on charges of sexual abuse.

He said that further information could not be provided at the moment.

However, a person familiar with the matter told Minivan News that the case had been reported and the girl was being examined by police. He claimed the arrested person was the girl’s father, and that he had been charged with molestation.

The source claimed the girl’s boyfriend had secretly “gathered evidence” that the abuse was occurring before presenting it to her and assisting her in reporting it to the police.

The abuse had been occurring for some time, the source claimed.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Man found dead in apparent suicide on Velidhoo

Police have reported death of a 24 year-old man from Velidhoo in Noonu Atoll, after he was discovered hanged from ceiling fan in his room at 12:35pm yesterday.

An official from the island office told Minivan News that the man was discovered by his father.

“He lived a very normal life and worked in his brother’s restaurant on the island,” the official said.

”According to what most of the islanders are saying, he had this problem with his girlfriend’s father; he had not been accepted by him. He lived together on the island with his girlfriend from Male’ and they were about to get married, but her Dad sent a letter to the court saying he would not give the consent for the marriage to take place.”

Deputy Minister for Health Mariya Ali said the Maldives lacked a comprehensive mental health system, and that the number of psychiatrists in the country was inadequate.

“Normally a person with a serious mental condition will be assessed and taken to ‘Guraidhoo’ (a mental health rehabilitation centre) until their psychotic episode is over,” Mariya said. “But after being discharged, the aftercare is not very strong and patients may stop taking their prescriptions. Their condition can deteriorate and they can relapse.”

Furthermore, Mariya said that it was very likely that the country’s high rate of child sex abuse was leading to a high prevalence of mental health disorders in later life, such as post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety problems, but that there was little general awareness of mental health issues in Maldivian society.

The Maldives also lacks the equivalent of a ‘Samaritans’ helpline, common in many developed countries, offering counselling and advice for people coping with depression or suicidal thoughts.

”The former government developed a draft mental health care policy with the assistance of the World Health Organisation (WHO), but it was never implemented,” Mariya noted. “We are now revising this policy and after that we should have an idea of what a mental health response system should look like.”

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

DRP Noonu Atoll wing’s leader arrested with suspected bottle of alcohol

Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Noonu Atoll wing leader Mohamed Abbas has been arrested with possession of a bottle suspected to contain alcohol.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said that three men were arrested for allegedly carrying alcohol in an empty water bottle.

”Two men have been released now,” said Shiyam. “The bottle will be brought to Male’ for the necessary examinations.”

Shiyam declined to reveal the identity of the person under arrest, however he confirmed that Abbas was one of the two persons released.

Alcohol in the Maldives is strictly controlled and restricted to ‘uninhabited’ resort islands. Maldivians, who are constitutionally-obligated to be Muslim, are prohibited from consuming it in accordance with Islamic practices.

Online newspaper based on Noonu Atoll, Velidhoo Online (VO), reported that three bottles of alcohol were discovered inside Abbas’s backpack.

VO reported that the bottles were discovered by police when they were checked following their arrival from the Ranveli Resort of Noonu Atoll.

The paper also said that people had gathered near Velidhoo police station and held demonstrations to express disapproval of Abbas.

Deputy leader of DRP, Umar Naseer, said Abbas was not the leader of DRP’s Noonu Atoll wing.

”He’s just a normal DRP member, an activist,” said Umar. ”I have idea how this happened, but I know he did not drink, because his breath-test results were negative to alcohol.”

Umar said there were no alcoholics in the opposition DRP, and claimed that there were only alcoholics in the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

”Police should investigate the case and take necessary actions against any person who violates the law, without referring to which party he is in or what his post is,” Umar added.

Police recently discovered bottles of alcohol inside the car of MDP parliamentary group leader and MP Moosa ‘Reeko’ Manik, however the government claimed the alcohol bust was a setup.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Cargo carrier overturns, two crew members drown

Police have reported a cargo carrier travelling from Noonu Atoll to Malé overturned  near N. Manadhoo and lost two of its passengers.

The carrier was travelling with seven crew, one of whom swam ashore to Maafaru, Noonu Atoll, and reported the incident. Another passenger was rescued by police, and three others swam ashore to Maafaaru.

Police from Noonu, Baa, Raa and Lhaviyani Atolls were searching for the two crew missing members, until Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) found the two bodies 24 metres below the surface yesterday afternoon.

The carrier was transporting two excavators, a tractor and a steel oil tank.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)