MVR 33,000 penalty for failing to stop on police order

A man has been fined MVR 33,000 by the Criminal Court for removing a one-way traffic cone and refusing to comply with police orders to stop.

Hassan Aleem Zuhury, S. Hithadhoo was fined on July 1 for the incident which occurred on December 22, 2021. He was sentenced for failing to stop even after the passenger on his motorcycle threw away the traffic cone.

He was charged with deliberately obstructing the duties of law enforcement.

In his defence, Aleem admitted that he had been driving the motorcycle, but said that he had been unaware Police had directed him to stop. He denied the charges raised against him.

Police, however, submitted to court video footage showing the incident. The ruling said that the footage clearly shows his motorcycle being halted, and him driving away despite being asked by Police to stop.

The minimum sentence for the charge is a six month prison sentence. However, as he spent 15 days in remand in custody, he can be served a prison sentence of 5 months and 15 days.

Aleem requested the court to grant him a lenient sentence as he is currently working.

The Judge stated that at this is not a major criminal offence, and as implementing a prison sentence in this case would prove to be a financial and administrative burden on the State, the sentence is commuted to a fine of MVR 33,000.

The court ordered that the fine be paid to MIRA within six months.