A hearing in taxi driver Gasim Hassan’s murder case has been held at the Criminal Court.

Currently ongoing in the trial is the stage to collect testimonies from state-presented witnesses. As such, three witnesses gave testimonies during the hearing held on April 11 as well.

Judge Ali Nadheem, who is presiding over the murder case, revealed that three witnesses gave their statements during Wednesday’s hearing.

The first witness to present a testimony at Wednesday’s hearing was a scene-of-crime officer who inspected the area in connection to the murder.

The officer revealed that the area; a construction site in Hulhumalé, was cordoned off to the public when he arrived. He led a team of officers in searching and inspecting the region.

At the time, a team of special operations of the Maldives Police Service (MPS) and a team of their Serious and Organized Crime Department were active in the search, which was divided into zones.

One of the teams confiscated a knife inside the trees west of Kurikeelamagu, inside a hollow pit which was dug to lay the foundation of the building. The confiscated knife was 12 inches in length.

Officers did not find anything on weapon when they confiscated it.

The second witness who gave testimony was the officer who conducted the investigative report based on material evidence. The officer revealed that several samples were collected from the areas well as Gasim’s taxi. One of the samples included the victim’s blood. However, a sample of Adham’s DNA was not provided.

The officer revealed that they found the DNA of three individuals on the knife found in the region including Adham’s, Gasim’s and that of an unknown.

The third witness; the officer who compiled the video and image analysis report, revealed that the officer had analyzed some video footages in connection to the case, some of which include clips where Adham is seen in three separate regions.

They include; inside a pickup in the afternoon of the day of the murder, a footage of him in Hulhumalé and one that shows Adham getting inside a taxi. Another footage showed Adham active in Hulhumalé, after having changed his shirt.

Among the witnesses presented by the state, the testimonies are yet to be collected of three more witnesses including the doctor, a police officer and a member of the general public.

Adham Mohamed, 21, is charged with first-degree murder in the trial, under the Act on Prohibiting ‎Threatening and Possession of Dangerous Weapons and Sharp ‎Objects.

Earlier, Adham pleaded guilty for the murder of the taxi driver and a fast-track hearing was held where the suspect retracted his confession.

However, Adham had detailed his actions and how the murder was carried out, and repeatedly confessed to every detail during the preliminary stage. While he was asked whether there was any coercion by the presiding judge Ismail Rasheed, Adham had stated that he made the confession on his own free will. Following his confession, the initial sentence of 25-years was reduced to a 17-year and six-month prison sentence.

The 21-year-old later claimed that he was not of sound mind when the confessions were made, accusing the police of intoxicating him by providing everything; he noted that he was under police's custody during these hearings.

Adham was arrested on 19 December 2019, after Gasim’s dead body was discovered lying face-down in a puddle of blood on the road in Hulhumalé on 4 December 2019.

Police earlier confirmed that Adham has a long criminal history including theft and cases related to drugs.

Prosecutor General Hussain Shameem had earlier assured that they have enough evidence to convict him even if he retracts his confession, adding that “things will only be worse” for the suspect if he does so.