Court Correspondent :
A Dhaka court yesterday pronounced the first verdict in a case filed over issuing fake Covid-19 certificates during the corona period. The court sentenced eight people, including JKG Health Care Chairman Dr Sabrina Arif Chowdhury to 11 years of rigorous imprisonment each.
The other convicts are Sabrina’s husband and JKG Chief Executive Officer Ariful Chowdhury, Executive Officer Shafiqul Islam, Graphic Designer Humayun Kabir Himu and four other employees- Himu’s wife Tanzina Patwary, Jebunnesa Rima, Sayeed Chowdhury and Biplob Das.
Dhaka’s Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Md Tofazzal Hossain handed down the sentence in presence of the convicts in his crowded courtroom. In the verdict, the court said the prosecution was able to prove the charges brought against all, accused of issuing fake Covid-19 certificates to many patients under three sections of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) beyond doubt. The convicts were sentenced to three years’ imprisonment and fined three thousand Taka each under section 420, sentenced to four-year imprisonment and fined four Taka four thousand under section 466, and sentenced to four-year imprisonment and fined Taka four thousand each under section 471.
The convicts were totally fined the convicts Tk 11,000 each, in default, they will suffer 11 months more in the prison. “The convicts supplied fake Covid-19 test reports. When the state took responsibility of conducting the rests free of cost, these convicts had played with the lives of the people through fake tests,” the court said in its observation.
The verdict further says that the time that the convicts have already spent in the prison will be deducted from their sentence. Besides, they will suffer the imprisonment one after another.
The court on June 29 fixed July 19 to pronounce the judgement as both the prosecution and the defense completed their arguments in the case on that day. A total of 26 prosecutions witnesses out of 40 testified in the case.
On August 20, 2020, Dhaka’s Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court framed charges against the eight accused. The Investigation Officer and DB Inspector Liakat Ali in the charge sheet accused Sabrina Chowdhury and Ariful Haque of being the masterminds behind the scam and others as their accomplices.
JKG Healthcare run by Arif and Dr Sabrina, realized money from the suspected patients for coronavirus test, whereas the company had inked a deal with the government to conduct the test free of cost.
On behalf of the prosecution Kamal Hossain filed the case with Tejgaon Model Police Station of the city on June 15,2020, for issuing fake Covid-19 test reports. Later, on June 23, JKG was sealed following regular process.
