High Court upholds sentencing of woman for being accomplice to son’s drugs business

The High Court of the Maldives has upheld a Criminal Court verdict to sentence Majidha Adam to 25 years imprisonment, after she was found guilty of being an accomplice to her son’s trade of illegal drugs.

The High Court ruling stated that she had given Rf 5000 (US$342) to her son to run his drug trade.

Majidha claimed in court that she had a mental illness, but the Criminal Court had not considered it in concluding the case, the High Court said.

According to the High Court the case was first lodged in the Criminal Court on 25 June 2007 and was concluded in November 2007.

On April 26, 2007, Majidha gave a statement to police stating that her son Ahmed Ihusan, studying at grade nine at the time, that she was aware that he was trading illegal drugs and that she provided funds for him to run the business on several occasions, the High Court’s ruling said.

The statement was however not signed by Majidha. Four senior police officers who investigated the case told the Criminal Court that the statement was as she gave it and no changes were brought to it, although she has declined that it was the same as the statement she wrote.

The High Court said Majidha has produced to the High Court a doctor’s statement that she had a mental illness, but that this was after the date the Criminal Court concluded the case. It dismissed the statement as the document was not produced to the Criminal Court at the time.

Majidha reportedly told the police that she was aware that Ihusan sold illegal drugs and that he kept it running by reinvesting the profits.

The High Court also ruled that the case was filed before the new constitution was ratified and so the courts had to follow the laws followed at the time.

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Man who raped mother receives 16 years’ prison, 39 lashes

Kolamaafushi Court in Gaafu Alifu Atoll has sentenced a man to  39 lashes and 16 years imprisonment after he was found guilty of raping his mother, in the presence of a minor.

According to police, 31 year-old Abdulla Nizam was sentenced to six years imprisonment and 39 lashes for the rape of an “unmarriageable” person, and a further 10 years imprisonment for having sex in the presence of a minor.

The latter charge is a criminal offence under the Child Sex Abuse Special Provisions Act.

The investigation of the rape was concluded and sent to the Prosecutor General’s Office in April 2010, while the  investigation into the presence of the minor was was concluded in September the same year.

The case was investigated by the Villingili Police Station based on the island of Villingili in Gaa Alifu Atoll.

In October last year, police arrested a 26 year-old man for allegedly sexually assaulting his 62 year-old grandmother on the island of Hithadhoo of Addu City.

Local media Haveeru reported that time that the 26 year-old man was a grandson of the woman, who was half-paralysed.

In April 2011, a 19 year-old man was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a 74 year-old elderly woman on the same island.

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