Police have arrested and charged two men who were caught eating during fasting hours.
Police
identified the pair as Mohamed Saeed, 42 of Henveiru Happy Villa and
Ibrahim Ali, 18 of Violet house in Maafaru, Noonu Atoll. Both names were
sent to the Prosecutor General (PG)’s office for prosecution.
In a
statement, police said the pair were discovered eating behind the
Alimas Carnival Stage at 2:00pm on July 12, 2013. The investigation was
concluded by July 24, and sent for prosecution.
Police Chief Inspector Hassan Haneef said eating during fasting hours was a crime under the Maldivian penal code.
‘’I think, although I am not entirely sure, it is a crime punishable by a sentence of up to one year in jail,’’ he explained.
Fasting
hours during the month of Ramadan are from dawn to sunset. In the
Maldives the dawn prayer is normally called at 4:40am and sunset at 6:23
pm.
During Ramadan in 2010, four men were arrested after they were caught eating in daylight hours. Two of those arrest were also made near the Alimas Carnival stage.
During
the same Ramadan, another group of people were arrested while they were
eating behind a construction site on the land behind the Dharubaaruge
convention centre.
In 2009 a man was arrested for eating in
daytime during Ramadan and was sent to the Criminal Court. The Criminal
Court fined him MVR 500 (US$32) and ordered him to reinstate that day’s
fast.
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