Maldives Police Service on Wednesday refuted media reports claiming that a Kenyan woman had been raped aboard a Safari in Hulhumale', and said that the incident did not involve rape.

They added that it was a case of groping and that the two men who were arrested regarding this were not under the influence of alcohol in contrast to what has been reported in media.

Speaking during the Parliament Committee on Human Rights & Gender meeting today with regards to the case, Deputy Commissioner of Police Abdul Mannan Yusuf said that the safari incident was not a rape case.

He highlighted that the two arrested individuals and the Kenyan woman were first questioned by police officers who were patrolling Hulhumale, after having spotted them nearby the pier around 5:15am that night. He stressed that upon questioning, the woman had first said that her phone was with the men and that she was having trouble getting it back from them.

Upon the mentioning of sexual abuse, Police had begun an investigation and treated it like an abuse case and continued with recorded statements.

Further detailing the events Head Chief Superintendent of Hulhumale Police, Mohamed Rasheed said that the two men who were arrested in connection to the case were released since they did not deem it fit to keep them under custody after taking into account the evidence at hand.

When questioned about possible influences on the release of the two men, Mannan assured that none of the decisions taken in this case were under the influence of a third party. He said that the decisions were taken based on the findings of their investigation.

They also noted that at first, the woman had refused a medical checkup claiming that such a thing did not occur but cooperated after they told her it was necessary for the investigation.