Feridhoo Council president suspended after sexual harassment conviction

AA. Feridhoo Council President Ismail Shah has been suspended following his sexual harassment conviction against a council staff.

Local Government Authority (LGA), via an announcement on the government gazette on Thursday, said a sexual harassment case was filed against Shah with the Employment Tribunal on June 16^th.

Employment Tribunal issued its ruling on September 21st, determining that Shah’s sexual harassment of the staff member was proven on a civil standard of proof. The Tribunal also ordered Shah against repeating acts of sexual harassment against the staff member.

LGA said the Authority had decided to launch an inquiry once the case was filed with the Authority’s board. The Authority said Shah was given the opportunity to respond in the case, during which he claimed the Employment Tribunal had violated the Evidence Act and Employment Act when recaching their decision.

However, LGA noted that Shah failed to appeal the Tribunal’s decision within the stipulated time frame.

Hence, the Authority concluded that Shah had violated the Prevention of Sexual Abuse and Harassment Act, resulting in huge damage to the council staff and whole decentralization system.

As such, based on the gravity of the case, LGA has decided to suspend Shah without pay and allowances for a period of three months, starting Thursday.