The Mayor of Thinadhoo City, Saud Ali, has been granted a 10-day period to appoint legal counsel to defend against charges brought against him.
Saud is being prosecuted for allegedly providing false information to government agencies during the process of transitioning Gaaf Dhaal Thinadhoo to city status.
The Prosecutor General’s (PG) Office has filed two charges against him:
- Tampering with public records under Section 310(a)(1) of the Penal Code, with reference to Section 310(b)(1), (2), and (3).
- Giving false information to a public official under Section 521(a) of the Penal Code, with reference to Section 521(g).
If convicted on both counts, Saud faces a prison sentence of two years.
A preliminary hearing for the case was held this morning at 9:00 am.
The prosecution alleges that on September 4, 2022, Saud submitted a letter and a falsified list to the Local Government Authority (LGA) to demonstrate that Thinadhoo’s population had reached the 10,000-resident threshold required for city status.
The PG Office stated that the list included details of deceased individuals and other unverifiable information.
According to the prosecution, when the LGA requested a verified list including ID card numbers for all individuals, Saud submitted a signed document on August 13, 2023, claiming a population of 10,500. This list allegedly contained names of people registered on other islands as well as duplicate entries.
Furthermore, the PG Office noted that during the investigation into the alleged population fraud, Saud failed to provide the population lists sent to government agencies upon request by the Maldives Police Service. The office also alleged that Saud lied to the police by claiming that no such records were maintained.
Speaking previously to Adhadhu regarding the matter, Saud dismissed the allegations, stating it was "absurd and laughable" to suggest a town could be converted into a city based solely on false information submitted by a single individual.
"It is crystal clear that this is a political move—an attempt to remove me from office by exerting influence. This situation demonstrates how things are currently operating and the extent of the power they hold to influence everything," Saud said.
A constitutional case was previously filed in the High Court seeking to nullify Thinadhoo’s city status because it was obtained through population fraud. Additionally, Thinadhoo North MP Saudulla Hilmy submitted the matter to Parliament, alleging that city status was granted in violation of the Decentralisation Act.
In his letter to Parliament at the time, Saudulla Hilmy asserted that the granting of city status in 2023 was unlawful, accusing the Thinadhoo Council of falsifying population statistics since 2022.
While these issues remained unresolved, Saud was suspended last year ahead of the local council elections. At the time, Saud maintained that his suspension was politically motivated.
