Maldivian man sentenced to four months in jail over forged transaction

Maldivian man sentenced to jail on Sunday over a forged transaction slip after purchasing goods from a store in Male'.

Judge Saffath Habeeb made the ruling against Ibrahim Haleel from Haa Alif Dhidhoo, who was accused of presenting false documents as true ones. He had purchased two cigarette boxes, two Redbull cans, a Snickers chocolate bar and a Mars chocolate bar, amounting to a bill of MVR 304. He had then sent a transfer slip showing money has been sent to the business' account to their phone, through his phone.

The trial was conducted as an urgent matter after Haleel had confessed to the crime.

Since he had confessed to the crime, the punishment of the crime have to be lowered by one degree, resulting in a sentence of seven months and six days, instead of the initial nine months 18 days.

Haleel had further requested receive a sentence of home arrest instead of jail time, as he had plead guilty to the crime.

While Judge Saffath did not grant his request, he did reduce the jail time to four months as the money involved in this case was low.