Following public condemnation over the government’s proposed bill to remove bribery as being a criminal offense, the government has proposed another amendment bill.

Fonadhoo MP Abdul Raheem Abdulla proposed the new bill to amend the penal code on behalf of the government and it is to be heard at Wednesday’s sitting.

Ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) stated that the new bill is an addition to their first amendment bill, to make bribery a non-criminal offense, in order to add a subsection defining what bribery is.

The government has decided to change the article in the penal code on bribery into an article that defines the conditions of an act that results in the contempt of court. If parliament passes the bill, it would result in the removal of Article 510 of the penal code, which defines bribery as a criminal offense.

The bill has been approved by the committee on national security and sent to the floor to be voted on in Wednesday’s sitting.

It was not initially disclosed that the bill would eliminate bribery as a crime from the penal code when it was proposed on July 10 by pro-government Feydhoo MP Ibrahim Didi.

Former deputy prosecutor general Hussain Shameem told RaajjeMV that if the bill was passed as it is, it would mean that it would not be a crime for state employees to accept bribes.

Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has sent numerous cases to the Prosecutor General (PG) office regarding parties that have violated article 510.

The ruling party has proposed 29 amendments to the penal code. The amendments have been approved by the committees and have remained on the floor for a week.