The state prosecution has amended its charge against the opposition lawmaker of Dhiggaru constituency, Faris Maumoon, from “accepting bribe” to “offering bribe”.
The lawmaker son of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom was arrested and remanded under a court order until the end of his trial under accusations of bribing lawmakers to garner support for the opposition lobbied censure motion against the parliament speaker. However, the official charges initially forwarded by the Prosecutor General’s Office to the Criminal Court indicted MP Faris under Section 510 (a) of the Penal Code, which is “Accepting Bribe”.
After the lawmaker’s legal team took issue with the charge, the PG Office amended the indictment to Subject 510 (b) of the Penal Code, which is “Offering Bribe”. The change was made without withdrawing the case from court, said the PG Office on Monday.
While the court has delivered the case’s documents to MP Faris’ lawyers and thus commenced the trial process, it has yet to schedule the hearings.
If proven guilty of the bribery charge, MP Faris would face a jail sentence of three years, two months and 12 days, which would also disqualify him from the parliament.
Meanwhile, the lawmaker is already undergoing another criminal trial, charged with identity theft, over misusing the flag and logo of ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM).
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