Civil Court orders the Maldives Police Service to pay MVR 250,000 in compensation to the owner of a car that was destroyed against regulations after it was towed.
As per regulations, the police can destroy vehicles they tow only after announcing publicly they have the towed vehicles in their custody, and if the owner fails to claim it within 60 days after the announcement was made. However, a car towed in 2019 was destroyed without the public announcement, and without having notified the owner of the vehicle.
When the owner of the car pressed charges in the Civil Court, the court said in their ruling made yesterday that although the Land Transport Act stipulated that towed vehicles have to be publicly disclosed before they are destroyed, the police had announced this car was towed at a date after it had been destroyed. Therefore, the owner did not have the opportunity to claim the car.
The court observed that the police's action had resulted in the owner losing their property and it would not have happened had the police made the information about the car public. Therefore, the police should pay compensation, the court said.
On the fact that the owner of the car had asked the court to receive a car of the same brand, or to receive the monetary equivalent to purchase such a car, the court ruled that the cost of the car was MVR 250,000, which the state has to pay within a month.
Previously, the state had to pay compensation in the case of a motorcycle in the tow yard in police custody as well. At that time, compensation had to be paid as the owner of the motorcycle was not informed the police had it in their custody, and they had to purchase a new one believing it had been stolen.
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