Sabrina, Ariful to serve 11 years in jail

A Dhaka court on Tuesday sentenced eight people including JKG Healthcare Chairperson Dr Sabrina Chowdhury and its Chief Executive Officer Ariful Haque Chowdhury to 11 years imprisonment each in a case filed on charges of issuing fake coronavirus test reports.

Dhaka Additional Metropolitan Magistrate Tofazzal Hossain handed down the verdict in a jam-packed courtroom in the much-talked-about case.

The other six convicts are – Abu Sayeed Chowdhury, Humayun Kabir Himu,  Tanjila Patwari, Biplob Das, Shafikul Islam Romeo and Jebunnesa.

The convicts were sentenced to three-year imprisonment and were fined Tk 3,000 each under section 420 of the penal code, sentenced to four-year imprisonment and fined Tk 4,000 section 466 while they were also sentenced to four-year imprisonment and fined Tk 4,000 under section 471.

The court its observation said “The convicts supplied fake Covid-19 test reports. When the state took the responsibility of conducting the tests free of cost, these convicts played with the lives of the people through fake tests.

Earlier, the court on June 29 set to pronounce the judgment as both the prosecution and defence concluded their arguments in the case.

A total of 26 witnesses out of 40 testified before the court in the case on different hearing dates.

The trial started on August 20, 2020, through framing charges against the eight accused in the much-talked-about case.

Detective Branch of police in the charge sheet accused Sabrina and Ariful of being the masterminds behind the scam and the others as their cohorts.

On June 15, 2020, one Kamal Hossain filed the case with Tejgaon Police Station over issuing fake Covid-19 test reports.