Visam’s remand valid in connection with Samaah’s death: High Court

The High Court has ruled that the remand of Mohamed Visam Sidhugee, who was arrested in connection with the fatal accident in Hulhumalé, until the end of the trial was justified.

Mohamed Visam Sidhugee, 26 and native to Hithadhoo district of southernmost Addu City, was presented to the court for his remand hearing, with which the judge ordered him to be jailed pending the outcome of the trial.

He was driving the car involved in the accident, that claimed the life of 23-year-old Hassan Samaah who succumbed to severe head injuries while receiving treatment at Hulhumalé Hospital.

The accident occurred when the speeding car – a racing car – crashed into Samaah’s motorcycle while he was waiting on the side of the road near Central Park. The victim suffered severe injuries to his face and head.

Visam appealed the case at the High Court.

Two appeal points were highlighted; that the Hulhumalé Magistrate Court's order was issued without jurisdiction, in violation of Articles 53 and 66 of the Maldives Courts Act and that the court order was issued based on inaccurate information provided by the Maldives Police Service (MPS) on how the incident unfolded and as a result, Visam’s right to a fair trial under Article 42 of the Constitution was “violated”.

Visam requested that the Hulhumalé Magistrate Court's order be annulled and that he be released from jail.

The state has urged that there is no basis to annul the Hulhumalé Magistrate Court's order or to release Visam from remand.

Regarding the appeal case submitted, the High Court's order states that when looking at the lower court's decision to detain Visam, it was based on his history of repeatedly driving without a license, the high speed at which the appellant drove the vehicle, and the fact that a person's life was lost due to the accident.

Looking at the recording of the conversations in the remand hearing, when asked if the deceased was driving on the wrong side of a one-way, the police stated that based on the video footage, sketch, and witness statements available at that time, it appeared that the suspect was driving at high speed.

Due to the car’s bumper being damaged, it was believed that the car hit the motorcycle.

Further, it stated that since this was a very early stage of the investigation, the information available at that time was limited to what could be confirmed.

Based on these facts, it is evident that the police did not submit false information to the court, and what was highlighted in the trial were the findings of the investigation up to that point.

In addition to this, when looking at the lower court's decision, the order states that the facts considered by that court in making its decision are not considered to be negated by the disputed fact.

The appellant has noted that according to the information currently available to the investigation, it is known that the deceased was riding the motorcycle against a one-way.

However, while this fact cannot be confirmed, as per the principles established in the Supreme Court cases of Shaheeb Ibrahim v. Prosecutor General's Office and Maftooh Saeed v. Prosecutor General's Office, the appellate principle is that the appellate court cannot make decisions based on evidence and indications not presented at the lower level.

If the appellant believes there has been a change in the facts and the allegation has changed, an opportunity to highlight this point will be provided during the review of the detention order.

As a verdict, the judge ruled that there appears to be no reason to annul the appealed court order.

The ruling that there was no reason to change the order for Visam's remand was reached by a majority, of Judge Fathimath Faruheeza and Judge Abdul Maniu Hussain.

The opinion of opposing Judge Hassan Shafeeu was that the Hulhumalé Court order should be annulled.