Unlicensed Motorcyclist Sentenced to Prison and MVR 1 Million in Blood Money Over Fatal Laamu Crash

The Magistrate Court in Laamu Fonadhoo has sentenced an unlicensed motorcyclist to three years in prison and ordered him to pay MVR 1 million in blood money following a fatal road accident on the Laamu Link Road.

Mohamed Naushan, of Hooravila, Laamu Fonadhoo, was convicted of committing a negligent act causing death under Section 111(a) of the Penal Code after entering a guilty plea.

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The fatal collision occurred on the evening of 15 August last year, near the terminal entrance of the Iskandhar Air Base in Laamu Kadhdhoo. 

According to state prosecutors, Naushan was driving a motorcycle at high speed from south to north along the Link Road without a valid driving licence when he struck pedestrian Maryam Moosa, of Ethuma, Laamu Maavah, as she crossed at a designated pedestrian crossing. The victim succumbed to her injuries hours later.

Delivering the judgment yesterday, the court ratified a plea agreement concluded between the Prosecutor General’s Office and the defendant on 3 March 2026, handing down a statutory three-year custodial sentence.

Accounting for the one year, two months, and ten days Naushan spent in pre-trial detention, the court reduced the term under the Criminal Procedure Act, leaving him with an active prison balance of one year, nine months, and twenty days to serve.

Under the Supreme Court Sentencing Guidelines and Islamic Sharia principles governing involuntary manslaughter, the court additionally ordered Naushan to observe 60 consecutive days of fasting as religious expiation.

The court also mandated Naushan to pay mitigated blood money of MVR 1 million, to be deposited with the Civil Court within 36 months for distribution among the victim’s legal heirs.

Under the court-ordered distribution, the victim’s surviving husband will receive MVR 250,000, while her four sons will each receive MVR 125,000 and her four daughters MVR 62,500 each.