Family of boy involved in Rasdhoo bullying case apologizes

The family of one of the boys who bullied a peer in the restroom of a mosque in AA. Rasdhoo last Thursday night has issued a public apology – after the disturbing incident – which was recorded on a phone – sent shockwaves across the Maldives.

The police have identified the culprits as a 13-year-old boy and a 14-year-old boy.

A family member of the 14-year-old wrote a statement on Facebook on Saturday night condemning the act.

She said that the family is saddened to realize that the victim will suffer lifelong trauma from the incident.

“…We regretfully apologize to the victim and his family,” she wrote.

She added that the family was forced to make the statement after a member of the family wrote on social media that the victim should have been killed.

“We learnt of this incident after a [Facebook] page shared screenshots of the comments. After these screenshots became viral, the society began perceiving this family as one that encourages bullying. But the opinion expressed by her in these screenshots are not shared by this family,” she said.

She said that the family does not condone violence and has no intention of defending the 14-year-old boy involved in the incident.

She added that family believes he deserves to be punished for his actions, and is cooperating with relevant authorities to mete out the punishment.

The family asked for cooperation from the public and authorities to rehabilitate and have the boy made a productive member of the society.

The disturbing video of the incident, which stops just short of two minutes, shows the bullies verbally abuse and repeatedly hit the victim. They also snatch a water bottle the boy is holding and pours the contents over his head. They also make him kneel down, as he pleads for them to stop.

The victim is not a native of Rasdhoo. He had been visiting from AA. Mathiveri with his family on school break.

The case is under investigation by the authorities.