Police held man down, handcuffed and masked during arrest

A man arrested over theft allegations has accused Maldives Police Service of handcuffing and masking him before holding him down for an hour during the arrest.

The 36-year-old man was accused of planning and executing a theft with two other individuals. The police had received the report with pictures of the accused.

The man argued that the two people accused of “planning and executing the theft” with him had traveled with him in a car from Hulhumale Phase 2.

In the criminal court ruling issued during the remand hearing, the court stated that two people were seen on the snapshots of the crime scene when the crime occurred.

When police intercepted the vehicle, they found some of the stolen items in the car trunk. The man claimed that no one had put anything in the trunk of the car. However, according to the letter submitted by the owner of the office that was broken into, the items found in the trunk matched some of the items that were reported to be stolen.

The man accused of thievery had no previous police record. He asserted that he worked as a taxi driver, and since he carried the responsibility of raising multiple children, he pleaded with the court for conditional release.

In lieu of the arguments posed by the law enforcement and the accused the court decided to remand him in custody for ten days.