Police denies that an MNDF officer was abducted and beaten

Maldives Police Service has denied the allegations that an officer from the MNDF Coast Guard was abducted from a street in Male' City and beaten by a group of masked assailants.

A Police Spokesperson told Sun that although MNDF, and the officer’s family have stated that he was abducted and beaten during a robbery, it was not how the actual events had unfolded.

“Our findings from the investigation so far indicate that he was not abducted from Male’. Moreover, information received up till now also indicates that the attack was motivated by a matter of the officer’s personal life,” the Spokesperson had detailed.

The Spokesperson also added that information received to their investigation so far does not indicate that he was attacked because he was an MNDF officer.

It was also noted that the case was being investigated as a serious incident by the Police’s Serious and Organized Crime Department.

According to his family, Staff Sergeant Hassan Fahmy, 38, was abducted from a street in Male’ City around midnight, just after he had returned to Male’ City from Maafilaafushi. He was attacked by a group of at least four masked men, who asked him for money. He lost consciousness after he was hit in the head with an object, and was carried to a nearby room, where he was beaten. The assailants dumped him in front of Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) in the morning.

MNDF condemned the attack in a statement, calling it a ‘cowardly’ act. They also noted that he had sustained a number of injuries during the beating.

In its statement, MNDF said that the agency’s leadership was closely monitoring his condition. MNDF said that both President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and Defense Minister Mariya Ahmed Didi have called to check his condition, and that Mariya provided assurance the government will provide all possible assistance to him.

They also added that police were searching for the assailants, and that criminals should not be allowed to create fear within the community.

“And we take this opportunity to state that such cowardly attacks against soldiers will not interrupt the national service provided by soldiers,” read the statement.