The Prosecutor General’s Office has charged two people in the murder of a 13-year-old boy found in a suitcase in Hulhumale last June.
Prosecutor General Hussain Shameem stated at a press conference on Thursday afternoon that two arrests, a 17-year-old Maldivian boy and a 27-year-old Maldivian adult, had been made in connection with the murder case.
The 27-year-old man, identified as Ibrahim Zihan, N. Landhoo, is facing a total of 13 charges stemming from seven offences. However, the 17-year-old is only facing murder charges.
According to the prosecutor general, Zihan is charged with one count of voluntary homicide, five counts of child sexual abuse, one count of drugging a child to have sexual relations, one count of grooming a child to have sexual relations, one count of unlawful restraint of a person, one count of abuse of a human corpse, and one count of using a child to commit a criminal offence.
Shameem noted that Zihan’s remaining two accusations are related to another case. If the charges are confirmed in court, he may face a 100-year prison sentence.
Shameem termed the murder of the 13-year-old kid as upsetting during the news conference, emphasizing that he would not let anyone go free after committing crimes against minors while he was in office.
On June 20, the 13-year-old boy’s relatives reported him missing. The matter was being investigated as a possible kidnapping by authorities. On June 22, his body was discovered in a suitcase in the lagoon northeast of Hulhumale Phase II, after authorities scoured the area after receiving reports of a child being tortured in the restricted region of Hulhumale.
