Deputy leader of the opposition Adhaalath Party, Ali Zahir has said that the Maldives Police Service needs ‘to stop bragging’ and do more to earn the people’s trust.
In a tweet sent out in Dhivehi on Sunday night, Zahir highlighted that the alleged MVR 3.4 million found in the residence of a close associate of detained Supreme Court Justice Ali Hameed has “suddenly increased to MVR 38 million”.
Mocking this, the Adhaalath deputy said that ‘keeping the money in the Maldives Monetary Authority could result in paying off the state debt, with a little extra cash to keep’.
“What the Maldives Police Service needs to do is earn the people’s trust, instead of bragging,” he added to the tweet.
Zahir’s comments are directed towards the police spokesperson’s statement at a press conference on Sunday, where he revealed that MVR 38 million had been found from a house belonging to a close associate of Hameed.
However, spokesperson Shifan had spoken about the money found Hameed’s house at a press conference held on February 12, where he revealed the amount to be MVR 3.4 million.
Justice Hameed is one of the many figures arrested over an alleged coup attempt. He, along with other justices at the Supreme Court including Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed, had issued a ruling on February 1, ordering the immediate release of nine high-profile political prisoners and reinstating the 12 opposition lawmakers unseated by the Elections Commission in July 2017. However, calling it an attempted judicial coup, President Abdulla Yameen instead declared a nation-wide state of emergency on 5th February.
