Samih reappointed as head of Homicide Investigation Unit

Chief Inspector of Police Mohamed Samih has been reappointed as the head of Death and Homicide Investigation Unit.

Samih had been removed from the same post amid public backlash over the police handling of the case of 21-year-old Hawwa Yumnu, who found severely injured on the rooftop of a warehouse in Male’ on April 18, 2025, after falling from a skylight in the ninth-floor stairwell of the adjacent building.

He was reportedly transferred to the Professional Standards Department.

Police spokesperson, Superintendent of Police Arif Bagir told Sun on Monday that Samih has been reappointed as head of the Death and Homicide Investigation Unit.

The police had ruled out foul play early on in the investigation into Yumnu’s fall – a claim that, according to her family, Yumnu disputes.

The police handling of the investigation into the case, which involved persons linked to high-profile individuals, fueled allegations of a coverup, and sparked serial protests in Male’.

Yumnu’s family also demanded Samih’s dismissal, accusing him of misleading the public.

Yumnu spent nearly three hours on the rooftop of the warehouse before a neighbor saw her and alerted the authorities.

She sustained serious injuries in the fall including multiple fractures, and was flown to a hospital in Malaysia.

Before her fall, Yumnu had been part of a group of at least eight other individuals who were at Ma. Maandhooge Dhekunuge – the family residence of then-Transport Minister Mohamed Ameen - for a party, where they are believed to have possibly consumed drugs and alcohol.

The police had initially refused to name anyone else except for Yumnu. It wasn’t until six days later – on April 24, 2025 – that the police finally named eight people who had been with Yumnu in the party as persons of interest; Raudh Ahmed Zilal, 21; Izdhiyaan Mohamed Maumoon, 28; Aishath Layaaly Iqbal, 22; Yoosuf Ahmed Akram, 22; Yoosuf Yassar Abdul Ghafoor, 28; Aminath Junaina Jamsheed, 24; Hussain Hamees Ali, 28; and Ijaz Jaiz, 24.

Raudh was later convicted of failure to aid a person in need under Section 618 of the Penal Code.

A presidential commission set up to investigate the case also ruled out foul play in the case, but found that individual officers involved in the investigation had been negligent in handing the case, and recommended action against them.