The suspect who confessed to the murder of taxi driver Gasim Hassan has revealed to the police that he did not intend to kill the driver.
Gasim was found critically injured on a deserted street of reclaimed suburbs Hulhumale' on the night of December 4th. He died at Hulhumale' Hospital while being treated for the deep wounds sustained to his neck and arm in the attack.
After fingerprint and DNA of the assailant were obtained at the crime scene and the murder weapon was recovered, the police took a suspect into their custody. The police on Friday revealed Adhuham Mohamed, 21, had confessed to the crime.
During a press conference held Tuesday, police said Adhuham attempted to rob the driver at knife-point in order to purchase drugs, and panicked when Gasim resisted, and attempted to scream and exit the taxi. In that moment, Gasim was stabbed in the neck, and according to Adhuham, he had not intended to kill the driver, said the police.
While Adhuham has given the details of the murder to both the police and the court, both Adhuham's confession and the police's investigation has provided crucial information regarding the case, said the police.
"Adhuham was arrested for the alleged murder of Gasim Hassan. From the information we gathered from the investigation and other means, we could conclude that it was not likely that Gasim was not singled out and targeted specifically with the intent of killing him. Therefore, we focused our investigation on those with records of drug use and mugging and carried on our investigation from there," the police said.
The police further revealed that Adhuham confessed to the crime and voluntarily offered the details of the murder following his arrest. According to Adhuham, when he attempted to rob Gasim at knife-point while choking Gasim, he resisted and grabbed onto the knife with both hands and screamed, and attempted to exit the vehicle. It was then that Adhuham panicked and attacked the driver with the knife, he had confessed.
He then changed out of the clothes he was wearing, which was later recovered by the police.
"Although Adhuham has confessed to the crime during investigation, our investigation was and is not solely based on his confession. We have obtained and confirmed several crucial information through CCTV footage and forensic evidence. We have learnt that on the night of December 4 at 2012 hrs, Gasim Hassan exited a cafe' named 'Keymaat Cafe'' after having a cup of coffee with his friends, and then drove along Ameenee Magu and got into his taxi which was parked in front of the Children's Park. At 2018 hrs, he traveled along Ameenee Magu [in his taxi], turned to Boduthakurufaanu Magu and crossed the bridge to get to the airport," the police revealed.
After picking up a passenger at the airport, he then went to Hulhumale', and the route he traveled in Hulhumale' has also been identified, said the police.
