Raudh pleads guilty to failing to assist Yumn

Raudh Ahmed Zilal has pled guilty to charges raised against him in the case of Hawwa Yumn Rasheed's fall from a building. 

Yumn was found fallen on to the roof of H. Mitaaz from the adjacent H. Fentenoy building on April 18. In the case, Raudh was charged with failing to assist a person in need without a justifiable reason. 

In Wednesday's hearing in the case at the Criminal Court, Raudh pled guilty to the charge. Hence, the case is to be expedited, with a verdict to be announced next week. 

The charge carries a prison sentence of one month and six days. With having pled guilty, the sentence will be further decreased. Considering the period spent incarcerated during investigation as time served, Raudh will then have to serve a very short sentence. 

The Prosecutor General's Office previously said that the charge is being pressed against Raudh for not having provided assistance to Yumn despite having known that she fell from the building, and for failing to alert any authorities about the incident. 

Raudh was arrested on April 24, six days after the incident, on suspicion that he had involvement in Yumn's fall, for being in a state of intoxication at the time of the incident, and for sexual misconduct. 

Raudh is the last person to have been seen with Yumn ahead of the fall. Before having gone to H. Fentenoy, the two had visited Ma. Maandhooge late that night, and then H. Kashiveli. 

Yumn sustained serious injuries in the fall and was taken abroad for treatment. A series of protests were staged in Male' at the time calling for justice for Yumn. Later, a Presidential Commission was formed to look into the incident, and into whether there was police negligence in the subsequent investigation. 

The Presidential Commission concluded that there was no evidence to support that Yumn had been deliberately thrown off the building. It, however, conceded that there was police negligence in the investigation.