Two police officers sacked over nude video and photos

Two police officers have been sacked over unrelated incidents involving their leaked nude video and photographs.

A police staff sergeant, who was in charge of the Laamu Gan police station, was fired on Thursday. According to local media, the male officer sent a nude video of himself during a video chat with a school girl, an offence that carries a jail term of between seven to 10 years.

A female police officer was meanwhile fired on Thursday over leaked nude photographs. Online paper VFP reported the officer was suspended when the photos were leaked. She was working at the police custodial centre on the island of Dhoonidhoo near Malé.

The police spokeswoman confirmed the dismissals but declined to either provide details or confirm whether the sacked officers are under investigation.

Sextortion, or blackmailing women and children for sexual favours, as well as cyber harassment of women, are common in the Maldives. In 2014, a man was arrested for posting nude pictures of Maldivian women online.

A policeman was also arrested in 2011 on a charge of blackmailing a woman in a northern island by doctoring a nude photo.

The police spokeswoman also confirmed media reports about the sacking of two police corporals who were arrested on suspicion of dumping anti-government writings inside the Iskandhar Koshi barracks in Malé.

The corporals were fired in December, she said. They were accused of leaving papers condemning the alleged forced attendance of police officers in plainclothes to a ruling party rally in November. The papers were reportedly left inside a stairwell and near the office of the professional standards command.

“The Maldivian police aren’t there to defend the government’s political agenda,” the papers reportedly read.