Police reveals that one of the two minors involved in the Rasdhoo case has a criminal record, adding he was reported to concerned agencies to be placed in rehabilitation in 2022. They maintain that if action was taken then, the child would now be reformed.
Maldives Police Service has stated that one of the two children observed in the footage that recorded the assault of a child in a mosque in Alif Alif atoll Rasdhoo has a criminal record and that concerned institutions were delivered the information urging rehabilitation of the child two years ago.
The footage shows a child bullied inside a restroom at a mosque and a number of other children assaulting the child by punching and kicking him. The child being assaulted is observed bursting into tears once violently struck on the face and the others had also directed profane and vulgar language to degrade the child.
Moreover, the child was seen dropping to his knees and begging his bullies to end the torment once the water bottle he held in his hand was snatched and poured over his head. Police had revealed that the two bullies who had assaulted the child while the Taraweeh congregations were ongoing at the mosque were two boys of 13 and 14 years in age.
Head of the Department of Juvenile Offence and Juvenile Monitoring Unit, Inspector of Police, Miyaz Mohamed shared with Mihaaru News last night that one the children involved in the bullying case that has surfaced has been involved in various similar cases since 2022.
Miyaz also stated that this was brought to the attention of the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) and the Ministry of Gender, Family and Social Works as well.
"Police had informed (Gender Ministry and DJJ) that the main child involved in the case that is ongoing right now (the case of Rasdhoo bullying case) needs rehabilitation in the year 2022. This information was delivered two years ago to relevant agencies. Various such cases like violence and bullying," Miyaz explained.
However, he repeatedly reiterated that there is no punishment that can be enforced over the boy as he is under 15 years of age. He had additionally emphasized that desirable results are not achieved through the program run by DJJ.
"If the child was provided a good program since the year 2022, enrolled in it and rehabilitated, he would not have gotten this chance [to commit acts such as bullying] yesterday. The child would be reformed. There are kids who properly go forward with the program who are out in society [now] as well behaved children," stated the Head of Crime Against Children Department, Chief Inspector of Police, Ahmed Sofwath Rauf.
"Sometimes, when children between 15 and 18 years are brought, these children need to be accommodated. Because there are no agencies that will assume responsibility or step up inside these two Ministries. We also can't bring them and always keep them here, can we?" he asserted.
The government has come to a decision to annul the law that prevents children under 15 years from receiving punishment and reduce the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 12 years. However, Police believe that even if the age for underage crime is altered, there is no benefit to it if there remains no essential programs launched for these children.
As indicated in records of the Department of Juvenile Justice, there are nearly 200 children at risk of involvement in crime. Most of these children are between the ages of 12 and 14.
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