The Criminal Court has determined that the murder charge against Pakistani chef Mohamed Abid, who is accused of stabbing and killing a foreigner, has been proven.

The person who died in an altercation that took place at Khanji Restaurant in Hulhumale' was a Bangladeshi national who worked there. In the case regarding his murder, a charge of intentional homicide was raised against Abid, who is a Pakistani cook.

According to the charges against him, Abid attacked and killed the Bangladeshi national by striking his head and chest. The state has noted that if proven guilty of the offense, the death penalty can be determined.

During the trial, Abid denied the charges, claiming that the stabbing was done in self-defense and that he was unaware he was using a knife at the time the attack occurred.

In his defense, Abid stated that due to being struck on his head by the Bangladeshi man during the fight that occurred between the two individuals at the time of the incident, Abid was left feeling dizzy.

During the hearing held at the Criminal Court last Wednesday regarding this case, the presiding Judge Ahmed Shafiu stated that even though Abid claimed there was no intent, it could be conceptualized that the act he committed was one that could lead to the loss of a person's life. He further stated that the testimony of witnesses shows he carried out the attack using a knife out of anger.

No defense witnesses were submitted on behalf of Abid in the case. The witnesses presented by the state predominantly consisted of foreign nationals who witnessed the scene.

The judge stated that looking at the testimony of witnesses and the way things unfolded during the incident, it is inclined to believe that Abid's claims of attacking the Bangladeshi man in self-defense are stories manufactured by himself.

Therefore, it has been determined that the intentional homicide charge against Abid has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt. It has also been decided to determine the penalty for Abid after obtaining the statements of the heirs of the deceased Bangladeshi national.

The penalty of execution will be sentenced against Abid if the heirs desire it to be so. Otherwise, he will face a prison sentence and the penalty of blood money (diyyah).

At this stage, the case concerning the murder of Luthfar, a Bangladeshi national, inside a boat from Sh. Lhaimagu, is also currently before the Criminal Court. While Luthfar, who was working as a cook, was being sought after going missing in 2019, his body was discovered weighed down and submerged off the coast of Lhaimagu. When found, nothing remained of the body except the bones.

In that case, as the intentional homicide charges against two Bangladeshi nationals, Alamin and Nurul Islam, have been proven, the court is currently working to obtain the statements of Luthfar's heirs.