Court confirms homicide charges against minor in brutal Hulhumalé child murder case
The child’s body was recovered by police on 21 June 2021, from a luggage box that had been weighed down with metal and tied in the sea within a restricted area of Hulhumalé Phase II. The body was retrieved in the presence of the individuals suspected of the murder. Charges in the case were filed on 19 August 2021.
A courtroom scene depicting court proceedings.
In a case arising from the kidnapping and murder of a 13-year-old boy in Hulhumalé Phase II, charges of intentional homicide, unlawful detention, and desecration of a corpse have been formally proven against a 17-year-old.
The Prosecutor General’s Office reported that on 23 December 2025, that the Juvenile Court ruled that the charges of intentional homicide, unlawful detention, and desecration of a corpse were proven against the minor suspected of killing the 13-year-old. The charges were filed by the Prosecutor General’s Office following the discovery of the child’s body inside a luggage box found in the lagoon of Hulhumalé Phase II at approximately 2am on 23 June 2021.
As punishment for the crime of intentional homicide, the court ordered that the minor be detained in a juvenile correctional facility for a period of 16 years, 10 months, and seven days. After deducting the four years, six months, and two days already spent in detention prior to the verdict, the remaining sentence to be served amounts to 12 years, four months, and five days. In addition to this, as expiation, or expiation, the court mandated that the minor fast for two consecutive months.
Further, the court sentenced the minor to 11 months and nine days in a juvenile detention center for the offense of unlawful detention. For the crime of desecration of a corpse, a sentence of 18 days in a juvenile detention center was imposed.
In connection with this case, the court has instructed that once a verdict is issued by the Criminal Court against an adult also implicated in the matter, the case be resubmitted to the Juvenile Court to determine the blood money, or financial compensation known as Diya in Islam.
The incident occurred in 2021, meaning that the individual who was a minor at the time is now 21 years old. The court had determined that the charges against the minor were proven on 19 March 2024; however, the final sentence and punishment were not delivered at that time.
The other individual charged in this case is Ibrahim Zihan of Bageechaage, N. Landhoo. Zihan faces 13 counts spanning seven types of charges. These include intentional homicide, five counts of touching a child’s body with sexual intent, three counts of using a child to commit a criminal offense, unlawful detention, desecration of a corpse, child grooming for sexual abuse, and having sexual intercourse with a child after administering an intoxicating substance.
The most recent hearing related to Zihan’s charges was held on 3 December 2025. Proceedings concerning the charges against him are being conducted confidentially at the Criminal Court.
The child’s body was recovered by police on 21 June 2021, from a luggage box that had been weighed down with metal and tied in the sea within a restricted area of Hulhumalé Phase II. The body was retrieved in the presence of the individuals suspected of the murder. Charges in the case were filed on 19 August 2021.
