Man arrested for barging into school released from custody

A man arrested in August for barging into a school in Male’ and threatening teachers was released from police custody on Tuesday.

The incident took place on August 6. The 41-year-old man arrested in the case is accused of barging into a school classroom and threatening teachers there.

Court documents show the incident was witnessed by the school’s students.

The police finished the investigation into the case and forwarded it to the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) for charges on September 16. However, the PGO has yet to make a statement regarding the case.

The suspect was presented before the Criminal Court on Tuesday, with the latest 15-day remand extension set to expire later that day.

The court decided to release the suspect from police custody citing lack of objections from the state and a lack of grounds to keep him detained any further.

Multiple members of the school’s staff told investigators they saw the suspect threatening the teachers, but said it did not escalate to physical violence.

In making the initial decision to remand him, the court noted that the suspect has a history of criminal intimidation, and that he had threatened the teachers in plain sight of school students, with complete disregard for the fear it would invoke.