A hearing has been held in the case of the murder of a chef at Ellaidhoo resort in Alif Dhaal atoll, during a dispute between two Sri Lankan nationals.

The hearing took place at the Criminal Court on Sunday.

The victim in the incident was identified as Pathum Dilshan De Silva Agampodi, a Sri Lankan national.

Sri Lankan national Jayalath Kodiarchchi Janaka Prasanna Perera was charged for deliberate murder using a sharp weapon, in connection with the case.

The first witness to appear at the hearing was an employee who was working in the kitchen at the time of the incident.

The witness said that he was in his room when another employee came and very anxiously told him that something had happened.

The witness described how he observed the incident and said that he went with Pathum when he was taken to the hospital.

Another witness testimony was also scheduled for this hearing.

Scheduled to be presented to give a testimony was a police officer, who couldn’t make it because the officer did not receive the summons notice the court had delivered to the Maldives Police Service (MPS) to be handed over to him.

The reason the summons notice was not delivered to him, was not made clear by the authorities.

The state has said that they will present the witness at the next hearing.

There are several Sri Lankan nationals as state witnesses in the case. Out of them, six have since left the country.

The state previously expressed desire to take their testimonies through the embassy.

However, as it was taking too long for the process, the judge voiced concerns regarding it, as the suspect has been detained for more than five years in connection with the case.

The state attorney revealed that they have been working through Interpol since August 25 to bring said witnesses, to no avail.

At the hearing, the judge noted that a very long time has been given to bring the witnesses and emphasized that the rights of the suspect should not be compromised in the matter.

As such, the judge said that a stand needs to be taken on this issue.

Noting that a hearing for collecting testimonies will be held within the first week of October, the judge noted that the information of the witnesses must be shared with the court before this.

Presiding over the case at the Criminal Court is Judge Ibrahim Ihsan.