Man Sentenced for Using Forged Payment Slips to Order Meals Worth MVR 115,000

The Criminal Court has sentenced a man to prison and house arrest after he was found guilty of using forged bank transfer slips to obtain meals worth MVR 115,000 from a local restaurant.

The convicted individual, Abdulla Fazeel of Daisymaage in Dh. Kudahuvadhoo, faced two separate charges brought by the State—fraud and the use of forged documents with the intent to deceive. As the charges were filed under different cases, court proceedings were held separately.

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According to the court verdict, Fazeel committed the offences between 22 August 2019 and 25 October 2021. During this period, he repeatedly ordered food from Olive Garden restaurant, operated by Sunrise Maldives Pvt Ltd. Although he received the meals, he sent payment slips showing amounts less than what was billed. On multiple occasions, he also sent fabricated bank transfer slips via Viber to the restaurant to falsely claim payment.

Fazeel admitted to the offences during court proceedings. For the fraud charge, he was sentenced to one year and 22 days in prison. However, taking into account the time he had already spent in custody, the court converted part of the sentence to six months of house arrest.

For the charge of producing and using forged documents, Fazeel received an additional sentence of three months and 18 days in prison, also adjusted to reflect time already served.

In addition to the criminal penalties, the court ordered Fazeel to pay MVR 115,000 in compensation to Sunrise Maldives Pvt Ltd. The amount must be settled within six months.