Criminal Court Orders Fine For Man in Root Shop Robbery Case

A man linked to the attempted robbery of more than MVR 4 million from a retail shop has been ordered by the Criminal Court to pay a fine instead of serving the remainder of his prison sentence.

The case relates to an incident on 25 October 2020, when four men wearing helmets attempted to steal MVR 4.2 million that was being taken from a Root Shop to the Bank of Ceylon (BOC) for deposit. The robbery was thwarted following the intervention of a bank security guard.

Mohamed Azmeen, a resident of Rasmaadhoo, was arrested in connection with the incident. Prosecutors said he had rented a room at a guesthouse in Malé City to accommodate the perpetrators involved in the attempted robbery.

During the investigation, police found that the two motorcycles used by the suspects had stickers covering their licence plates. A fingerprint recovered from the rear licence plate of one of the motorcycles was matched to Azmeen.

Under sentencing guidelines, the offence carries a prison term of one year, seven months and six days. Azmeen had already spent 11 months in detention, which was taken into account after his conviction. He subsequently requested that the remaining sentence be converted into a fine.

The court approved the request and imposed a fine of MVR 49,000 for the outstanding period of the sentence. Judge Aminath Azlifa ordered that the amount be paid to the state within three months.

Seven people were arrested in connection with the attempted robbery of the Root Shop. Four of them had earlier pleaded guilty and were sentenced by the Criminal Court to two years in prison.