Home Ministry denies UK court convict is Maldivian citizen

The Home Ministry Office has said that a Dhivehi passport has not been issued in the name of a man convicted by a British court.

The Home Ministry has denied reports that a British court has sentenced a Maldivian to jail in a sexual assault case. The Home Ministry stated in a press release that Sundaralingam Kudalingam has never been a Maldivian citizen.

The Department of National Registration (DNR) records do not list a Maldivian by that name, and the Immigration records do not show that a Maldivian passport has ever been issued to a person by that name, the ministry stated.

The ministry said the news circulating that Sundaralingam Kudalingam is a Maldivian is not based on any valid information.

A man has been jailed for allegedly sexually assaulting a film star in London, the Daily Mail reported. The newspaper quoted police as saying the prisoner was Sundaralingam Kudalingam, 36, who had traveled to the country from the Maldives.

The newspaper reported that the man, who was sentenced to four years in prison, was a native of Maldives, but the Immigration Department also issued a statement yesterday saying he was not registered as a native of the country with any agency.

Mihaaru News reported that it has learned that Kudalingam was an Indian national who worked at a resort in the Maldives.

Maldives Immigration denies UK sex offender is a Maldivian