Family of Rasdhoo Mosque bully apologize for violence

The family of one child involved in violently assaulting another child inside a mosque in AA. Rasdhoo on Friday apologized for the incident, footage of which has since gone viral on social media to much scrutiny and criticism from the public.

The two boys who carried out the assault on another child are aged 13 and 14.

A family member of the 14-year-old child who carried out the attack said in a post on Facebook that the family had condemned the incident on Saturday. The post expressed regret for the harm caused, and stated the family's grief knowing the fear and psychological trauma the victim will suffer for the rest of their life.

The post comes at a time where one other family member had made a comment on Facebook victimizing the child who had suffered the abuse further with death threats.

"We found out after some screenshots were posted on a page. When these screenshots started circulating, the family was being portrayed as one that encouraged bullying among other members of the community. However, the views expressed in the screenshot are not at all how the family is approaching this incident," the post read.

The post asserted that the family does not encourage violence and does not intend to defend the child who was involved in causing the violence. It went on to state the family's belief that the child should be punished for the crime he committed, and that they are cooperating with the authorities with regards to what comes next.

The family also appealed for cooperation from the public and relevant authorities as they worked to reintegrate the child back as a functioning member of the community.

The child seen assaulted in the video which went viral on Saturday has been identified as a boy from Mathiveri. At the time of his beating during Tarawih prayers on Friday, the child had been in the mosque in Rasdhoo as his family was visiting the island for the holidays.

This incident has caused national outcry with much scrutiny surrounding the viral video depicting the child being bullied and attacked inside a mosque's toilet by other children who were assaulting him verbally and physically. In the lengthy and violent video, the child is seen being drenched with water from his own bottle and begging on his knees to be let go.

Maldives Police Service (MPS) and the Ministry of Social and Family Development continue to investigate the incident as a serious case.