Wednesday
30th Oct 2024
Dhivehi Edition
A man who attempted to sexually abuse a 79 year old, in HDh. Vaikaradhoo fled the scene after being unsuccessful.
Son to the victimized woman shared the story on Twitter, with a picture of the abuser, asking the Twitter community to help him locate the perpetrator who attempted to rape his 79 year old mother.
The Tweeter told TMJ that although he and his mother lived at the house where the incident took place, at the time of the incident he was not on the island. He was at sea, fishing.
The victim’s son told TMJ that his mother recounted that the man entered the home asking for food because he was very hungry. As the man was an outsider, a traveler on the island and had been asking for sustenance, as a human she could not deny him the hospitality. She seated him and prepared him a quick plate, however, when she returned, the man was stark naked and lunged at her.
The son added that his mother somehow saved herself, and ran next door. He said that she then went to his sister, her daughter, who reported the case to the police and called him to let him know.
The woman’s son told TMJ that since their island already had a Community Police Centre, he did not rush back home, assuming that the law enforcement will do their due diligence to catch the perpetrator.
He said that the incident took place around 20:00 that night and he got back at 23:15.
However, when he returned to the island, their fishing boat crew saw the man who attempted to rape his mother leave the island with another man in a miniscule dingy used to harvest sea cucumbers. He said that the police told them that there was no investigation officer at the time of the report, however, he stated that there were two police officers on the island.
The victim’s son told TMJ that while the police made no attempt to arrest the man, they had not taken the accused in for questioning either. He said that the police were notified at the time of reporting that the man was under the fluence and they could have stopped him and checked him for drugs or taken him in for possession if anything.
The son told tMJ that an investigation officer came to Vaikaradhoo the next day and took a statement from his mother, however, the police had already convinced his mother to give the statement so that the case could not be pursued further. He said that there was no point in having law enforcement present, if they did not have the jurisdiction to follow a criminal and prosecute them for a crime.
The son of the victim noted that cases of this nature should not have been let go so easily and taken so lightly. He said that these problems are deeply rooted to the functionality and security of the community.
Although TMJ attempted to get a comment from the Maldives Police Service on the matter, the efforts have been futile.