Couple charged with murder after allegedly aborting, burying five-month old foetus

Twenty-one year-old Aminath Shaahee Aalam was 20 weeks pregnant when she gave birth on December 12, 2012, according to local media. Shortly after she gave birth, her husband, 26 year-old Ibrahim Wisam, stands accused of placing the foetus in a plastic bag and burying it on the beach.

Police discovered the foetus buried on a Maradhoo-Feydhoo beach after local witnesses reported a motorist acting suspiciously in the area on the evening of December 14, according to local media. Abortion in the Maldives is illegal unless it is proved the conception is the result of rape, or that the pregnancy is a threat to the mother’s health.

The Prosecutor General’s Office forwarded the couple’s case to the Criminal Court on May 2, however a trial date has not yet been scheduled.