Unlicensed rider who hit Hafeez, jailed

The unlicensed rider who was involved in the fatal road accident on the day of Eid-Al-Adha, has been jailed.

Shammaan Abdul Shakoor, 22 and native to Inguraidhoo island of Raa atoll, was riding the motorcycle that crashed into Ali Hafeez, who was left critically injured in the collision.

He was arrested under a court order on July 3.

The 22-year-old was given a 15-day remand period on July 4 upon being presented to the Criminal Court for his remand hearing. His remand period was extended after the initial date expired.

Shammaan was slapped with a two-year jail sentence during a Criminal Court hearing held on Monday.

The sentence was issued by Judge Faiz Rashaad.

The Criminal Court’s verdict stated that Shammaan was sentenced to two years behind bars as he had confessed to the charges of causing injury to an individual, during the preliminary hearing of the case.

However, his sentence was reduced to one year, 10 months and 29 days, as Shammaan pled guilty to the crime.

The Maldives Police Service (MPS) earlier revealed that Shammaan did not have a license on him when the accident occurred. The police institution came under fire for delaying the motorcyclist’s arrest as well. MPS earlier revealed that his arrest was delayed as he too had sustained serious injuries in the crash and was undergoing treatment at the hospital.

Lecturer at the Maldives National University (MNU) Ali Hafeez was exiting the mosque near the Heenaamaage parking zone after Fajr prayer, when he was hit by the unlicensed rider.

Eyewitnesses at the scene reported that the motorcyclist was speeding and that on impact, Hafeez was thrown off to a long distance.

Hafeez was initially treated in the ADK Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and was airlifted to neighboring India for further treatment to critical injuries attained in the crash. Due to his critical condition not giving way for him to be flown on a commercial flight, Hafeez was airlifted onboard an air ambulance.