‘Thief’ stripped and spray painted

A vigilante mob in Malé stripped an 18-year-old man down to his waist and spray painted the word thief on his back after he was caught allegedly stealing a case of water from a shop in the capital.

Photos on social media show the bare-chested young man standing in the street in Maafannu ward with the word thief daubed in Dhivehi on his bare back.

According to CNM, the mob forced the boy to “shame walk” before handing him over to the police.

The police said they were alerted to the incident at around 8:30pm on Saturday.

Last week, Police Commissioner Mohamed Hameed urged the public “not take the law into your own hands”, after vigilantes stripped an alleged child sex offender down to his under shorts and forced him to walk around in public in Hulhumalé.