Sunny Umar to be held until end of trial

The Criminal Court has today placed Hussain Sunny Umar in remand in custody until the end of trial. 

Sunny, a leading figure at The Travel Guys Pvt Ltd, was arrested on charges of child sexual abuse. 

Police said today that the when Sunny was presented in court today for his remand hearing, the Criminal Court ruled to hold him in custody until the end of trial. 

Today's remand hearing followed the expiration of a 30 day remand order previously given against Sunny. 

The Prosecutor General's Office has previously said that as the investigation proceeds, they will request for remand extensions, even until end of trial, as defined in the law. 

Sunny, involved with halal tourism brand The Travel Guys Pvt Ltd  and Travelution media and PR firm is accused of child sexual abuse, with case being lodged at the Police against him by the victim's family. 

When news of the case reached the public, Sunny had already left the country. He was summoned to Police for questioning, with Police escorting him to the station from the airport directly on his return to Maldives. 

He was then released after questioning. However, Sunny immediately attempted to leave the country on the same day. He was arrested at the airport and placed in custody. 

Police earlier said that Sunny had been released after questioning after he had assured full cooperation for the investigation. They said that he had been arrested for attempting to leave the country, but had afterwards been released again. However, he was then arrested under a court order in relation to the allegations of child sexual abuse. 

The Travel Guys earlier issued a statement saying the company’s board has seized Sunny's shares, which have been retained by the company and not sold to any third party.

The firm emphasized that Umar has no involvement in the day-to-day running of Travelution.