Witnesses testify to seeing SMS by Humaam demanding payment

Two witnesses have testified in court today that they saw a SMS asking for a pending payment, sent by Dr. Afrasheem's murder suspect Hussain Humaam, on the night that he was arrested for the murder.

Prominent religious scholar and MP for Ungoofaary constituency, Dr. Afrasheem Ali was brutally murdered near the stairwell in his home H. Funvilu on the night of the 1st of October 2012.

Testifying with their identities concealed, the court heard testimonies by two witnesses at the hearing today. The first witness said that they were on alert after a stabbing and patrolling the streets when they had come across Humaam on the night of the murder. They said that Humaam was standing in front of State Bank of India office near Artificial Beach, where he was searched, arrested, and transported to Atholhu Vehi, the main police custodial facility in Male’.

While filing Humaam into the custodial, the witness had read a SMS sent by Humaam to an unidentified number phrased along the lines, “Where is the money?”, the witness said.

The second witness also testified of seeing an SMS indicating a demand for a pending payment.

Both witnesses said that they had came across some extraordinary behaviour from Humaam on the night they arrested him for the murder of Dr. Afrasheem Ali, and that Humaam had a previously been taken into police custody on several occasions, and thus, was not new to being arrested.

They said that Humaam was scared and sweating profusely that night, acting noticeable differently from the other two individuals whom he was with, who were also subjected to same procedure and body checks.

However, the statements by the two witnesses had a noticeable difference.

The first witness told the court that, upon meeting them on the night of the arrest, Humaam had uttered along the phrase; “Buddy, this is bad, has someone stabbed Afrasheem?” where as the second witness’s testified that Humaam had said that; “This is bad isn't it, has someone been stabbed?”

The judge today ruled that the court will not hear witnesses by the defence, on grounds that the defence had presented them after the court had heard witnesses by the prosecution.

The court has yet to hear the prosecution’s witnesses against the second primary suspect for Dr. Afrasheem's murder, Ali Shaan of H. Hicoast.