The Criminal Court on 27 October sentenced Mariyam Dheena, the former head of procurement at state utility Fenaka Corporation, to one year, seven months and six days in prison for abuse of official position.
The case concerns payments Fenaka made to Blazon Inc under a contract between the two companies. The prosecution said the money was released before the work was finished and without checking that it had been carried out.
The court found Dheena guilty earlier this month and ordered that she be held in custody until sentencing. A sentencing hearing set for 20 October was postponed after she was admitted to hospital.
Plea for fine or house arrest rejected
At Tuesday's hearing, the prosecution asked only for the basic sentence for the offence. It said that although the crime was serious, it took into account that Dheena is the sole carer of young children and did not benefit directly from the offence.
Her defence asked the court to impose a fine or house arrest instead of prison, citing her health and her responsibilities as a single carer.
Criminal Court Chief Judge Adam Mohamed rejected the request. He said no medical document had been submitted showing that she could not be held in prison, and described the offence as one that harms society as a whole. He imposed the basic sentence sought by the prosecution.
Former managing director already jailed
Fenaka's former managing director, who was charged in the same case, was sentenced to four years in prison last year. Four years is the maximum penalty for the offence.
Dheena also faces a separate trial at the Criminal Court over a June 2018 contract awarded to a private company to install camera systems, a command centre at Fenaka's head office and video-conferencing systems at its branches.
Criminal Court verdicts can be appealed to the High Court.