Tag: police

President commutes sentences of 24 inmates

President Abdulla Yameen has commuted the sentences of 24 inmates under the authority vested in the president by the Clemency Act of 2010.

According to a President’s Office statement, sentences were commuted based on the inmate’s age; time spent under house arrest, jail, or banishment; medical condition; and discipline. Conditions were attached to the commutation, the statement said.

The president considered the following criteria in commuting sentences:

  • Inmates must not have committed a disciplinary offense in the past two years
  • Inmates must not have received an presidential pardon or commutation of sentence, or drug rehabilitation through the Drug Court or been granted parole in the past five years
  • Inmates must not have been sentenced in 2013

Individuals who were convicted of murder, terrorism, disturbing the peace – including attacking or threatening a security officer or vandalising public property, child abuse, rape, homosexuality, drug trafficking involving an amount more than four grams, or a hadd crime were not considered, the statement said.

The president did not include anyone that could be determined as dangerous to the society. Yameen will grant clemency to an additional group of convicts on April 1, the statement said.

Article 115 of the constitution states that the president has the authority “to grant pardons or reductions of sentence as provided by law, to persons convicted of a criminal offence who have no further right of appeal.”

On January 9, police cleared the police records of 1,023 young persons who were arrested for various criminal offenses, as part of the government’s pledge to facilitate youth employment.

At the time, Commissioner of Police Hussain Waheed urged all young persons to make the best out of this “golden opportunity” and to leave the crime environment and become useful individuals to society.

In March 2012, current Vice President Mohamed Jameel Ahmed shut down former President Mohamed Nasheed’s flagship Second Chance program set up to reintegrate convicts into society.

Jameel, who was Home Minister at the time, said that Nasheed’s administration had used the program “to release unqualified criminals under political influence and without any clear procedure “.

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Car crashes into military barracks’ gate

A speeding car crashed into the gate of the military barracks near the southwest harbour of Malé last night.

According to police, the 21-year-old male driver sustained head injuries in the accident and received treatment at the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital.

The car was driving along the outer ring road Boduthakurufaanu Magu, veered out of control and crashed into the gate at Kalhuthukkala Koshi.

Both the gate and the front of the car were damaged in the accident.

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Chinese tourist drowns in Fulhadhoo

A 30 year old Chinese tourist staying at a guesthouse with his wife in the island of Fulhadhoo in Baa Atoll drowned on Tuesday morning.

Police have stated that the man was already dead when taken to the Fulhadhoo Health Centre.

They were made aware of the drowning after his wife had sought help from the island community on Tuesday, mid-morning.

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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 arrest five in Addu City drug bust

Police arrested five people from the Hithadhoo ward of Addu City on Thursday with illicit narcotics and MVR231,845 (US$15,035) in cash.

The suspects taken into custody from the Dhunakulhi and Divine Test houses included two minors aged 17 and three men aged 23, 26 and 32.

Police searched the houses with a court warrant and found the drugs in 17 rubber packets and two larger packets. Police also found a number of packets used for packing drugs.

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Criminal Court fines man for eating during fasting hours of Ramadan

The Criminal Court has on Thursday fined a man MVR150 for eating during the fasting hours of Ramadan in 2011.

The local media identified the man as Subhee Ismail Mahir of Maafannu ward.

Online newspaper Sun reported that the Prosecutor General’s Office had charged Subhee for breaking the fast by drinking a Coca-Cola bottle standing near a shop named ‘Monalals’, without any valid reason to do so.

Sun reported the Criminal Court’s ruling as stating that this was the first time Subhee was found guilty of a crime of this type and that he is sentenced under article 88 of the penal code.

According to the paper the court ordered him to pay the fine in seven days.

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Two arrested for attempting to raid guest house using forged Police ID

Police have arrested two persons who attempted to search a guest house pretending to be intelligence officers using a forged police ID card.

According to police the pair – aged 23 and 24 -entered a room in a guest house on January 21 and started searching the place after showing a forged police ID card.

They were both arrested when police officers searched their bodies, discovering the forged police IDs.

The police’s Serious and Organized Crime department is investigating the case.

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Supreme Court suspends prominent lawyer pending investigation for contempt

The Supreme Court has today suspended former attorney general and high profile lawyer Husnu Suood from all courts, accusing him of violating lawyers regulation’s article 3.2[a][c].

Husnu Suood has shown the Supreme Court notice he has received to the media. It states that his comments regarding Supreme Court ruling number 42/SC-C/2013 constituted contempt of court.

The Supreme Court’s notice stated that it has asked the police to further investigate the case and that Suood is to be suspended from all the courts until this investigation is concluded.

Speaking to Minivan News today, Suood said that he believed this was related to the issue of Supreme Court Justice Ali Hameed’s sex scandal case.

Suood suggested that the Supreme Court had suspended him because he is in the committee investigating the judges alleged appearance on the tape.

‘’[Former Youth Minister] Hassan Latheef and Hisan Haseen were also both lawyers accused of the same thing, but the court gave them advice and did not take action against them, but I am suspended so it is not fair,’’ Suood said.

He noted that the Supreme Court ruling in question was the verdict that invalidated the first round results of presidential election first round.

“They [Supreme Court] told me that the suspension was regarding a tweet I posted on twitter which says that I believe that the Supreme Court’s ruling was in violation to the constitution,’’ he said.

“I deny that I was the one who tweeted it, but even if it was me I do not think that expressing one’s opinion is a crime.’’

He also said that there was nothing in the case for the police to investigate.

‘’Now there is nothing I can do about it I just have to wait for the police to finish the investigation. But what is there to investigate,’’ he asked.

Previously, the Supreme Court suspended Suood for alleged contempt of court.

On September 28, Suood said the dispute regarding the presidential elections had left the country’s ongoing democratic transition in “limbo”. The former AG had represented the Elections Commission (EC) in the election annulment case before being thrown out for ‘contempt of court’.

“I am of the view that all institutions have a duty to uphold the constitution,” he said at the time, in response to the EC’s efforts to conclude presidential polls within the legally mandated – article 111 of the constitution.

“According to the constitution, the Supreme Court’s word is final only in respect of the interpretation of provisions of constitution and law. Here, the Supreme Court had not given an interpretation on Article 111. However, Judicature Act says that all state institutions must abide by the rulings made by courts.”

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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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