Police Commissioner Abdulla Riyaz has said authorities require a mechanism to take witness testimonies before they can be intimidated or influenced.
Local media reported that Riyaz expressed “concern” over the way all suspects in the murder case of Ali Shifan had been acquitted.
The Police Commission claimed that many witnesses were too afraid to testify in high profile cases, adding that there needs to be mechanism to process witness statements quicker.
“Such things happen. This is something we must accept. In other countries there are various mechanisms in place to ensure witness protection.
“We already have such a law. There is a witness protection Act. We have been informed that a draft of such an Act is already at the Parliament. I hope it becomes a law soon,” Riyaz was quoted as saying in local media.
According to Riyaz witnesses change their statements in court because their influenced financially and through intimidation.
Last week, the Criminal Court ruled that all six suspects arrested in connection with the stabbing murder of Ali Shifan are innocent and ordered their release.
The judge ruled that there was not enough evidence to convict, reported local media, despite the DNA of the victim being found under the fingernail of one of the suspects.
The judge said that although the state had produced five witnesses to the court, their statements to police were contradictory.
The judge cited a Supreme Court ruling stating that when dealing with murder cases, a suspect could only be convicted if there was enough evidence to believe he was guilty beyond any doubt, and said the state was not able to convince the court that they were guilty.
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