Nurse Mary’s murder: Lamha given 3-month bail

Haleemath Lamha Abdul Rahman, one of the prime suspects in the murder of Filipino nurse Mary Grace One Pineda, has been given a 3-month conditional bail.

The murdered nurse had been an employee at Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) at the time of her demise.

Lamha, who is suspected of committing the murder with Mary’s husband, was earlier sentenced to remand until sentencing was first released on November 23th last year. The High Court however ordered for her remand again on December 20th last year, after which she remained in remand until today.

At the Criminal Court’s Tuesday hearing on the case, the presiding judge Hussain Fayaz Rashad ordered the bail for three months with conditions, which include:

• Refrain from further criminal offences during bail duration
• Timely attendance to court if and when a summoning is ordered
• Prior acquiescence from the relevant court for any trips out of Male’ City
• Refrain from communicating or meeting with all potential witnesses
• Acquire police consent for any trips outside of residence
• Refrain from traveling abroad during bail period

Mary’s body was taken to IGMH in October 2021 by her husband, Marvin S.Y Vargas who initially claimed her death as suicide by hanging, but later changed the story and said she suddenly collapsed.

The police had found Mary’s death suspicious and opened an investigation after which Marvin was arrested later on October 27, 2021. On December 16 of the same year, Lamha was arrested.

While Lamha, who is suspected of having an affair with Marvin, is accused of co-conspiring with Marvin to murder Mary and assisting him in facilitating the murder, Marvin has been charged with murder and is accused of injury Mary’s head and neck and strangling her to death at her apartment.

Lamha is also charged with knowingly taking unauthorized control over the property of another after police found two injections from IGMH which she was not authorized to take out of the hospital. The injections were discovered hidden in an envelope in her bedroom. She is also charged with carrying out an activity that requires permission from an authority, without obtaining permission from the relevant authority after police found a type of drug issued only for the use of hospitals and health facilities.