INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
video circulating on social media shows a woman with a British accent being detained by at least three officers on the island on Maafushi,
in the Kaafu atoll.The officers can be seen trying to wrap a towel around her as they struggle to put her in handcuffs and lead her away.She
repeatedly shouts "you are sexually assaulting me" as others look on at the struggle.Following her arrest, Maldives Police Service
Commissioner Mohamed Hameed issued a public apology to the woman, saying the incident appeared to have been "badly handled" by
officers.According to the country's local news service, Raajje.mv, the woman was arrested shortly after 5pm local time on Thursday for
"indecent exposure".It reported that police suspected the woman to be "under the influence of alcohol".Image:The island of Maafushi relies
heavily on tourism Mr Hameed said in a Twitter post: "Incident in Maafushi in which our officers restrained a female tourist seems to be
badly handled."I apologise to the tourist - the public for this
The challenge I have taken up is to professionalise the police service - we are working on that."This matter is being
investigated."Raajje.mv reported that, while Maafushi is a popular tourist location, wearing bikinis is "strictly prohibited" on local
It is permitted in holiday resorts.The UK government's travel advice for the Republic of Maldives states that visitors to the Islamic
country should be "sensitive to local dress standards when visiting non-resort islands".The country is made up of about 1,200 small islands
and is located about 400 miles southwest of Sri Lanka.
