The Criminal Court has found a Pakistani chef guilty of the 2022 murder of a Bangladeshi waiter at a restaurant in Hulhumalé.

The court convicted Muhammad Abid of intentional homicide after determining that the prosecution had presented sufficient evidence to prove the charge.

The verdict was delivered last Wednesday by Presiding Judge Ahmed Shakeel.

During the trial, Abid denied intending to kill the victim.

He argued that he acted in self-defense and claimed he did not realize he was holding a knife when he swung his arm during the confrontation.

The incident occurred on April 16, 2022, at Khanji, a Pakistani restaurant in Hulhumalé.

The victim, MD Shamim, a Bangladeshi national, was employed as a waiter at the establishment.

Following the attack, Abid fled the scene but was arrested later that night by police while hiding near the beach in Hulhumalé Phase II.

The Criminal Court concluded that the evidence supported a conviction for intentional murder, bringing the high-profile case to a close after more than three years of legal proceedings.