CHITTAGONG: A Chittagong court yesterday sentenced a former Customs official to eight years in jail on charges of amassing wealth illegally and concealing information in his wealth statement.
Chittagong Divisional Special Judge Mir Ruhul Amin passed the order in presence of the convict – former superintendent Sheikh Akram Hossain of Customs, Excise and VAT Commissionerate at Teknaf. Court sources said the convict – who had previously been out on bail – was sent to jail following the verdict.
Meanwhile, Jahanara Begum and Nilufar Yasmin – wives of the convict – were acquitted from two other similar cases as the charge against them were not proved.
Anti-Corruption Commission’s Public Prosecutor Mahmudul Haque Mahmud said the court delivered the verdict under sections 26 (2) and 27 (1) under Anti-Corruption Commission Act-2004.
“In one section, the accused was awarded seven-year term and fined with Tk19,443,437; in default he has to serve another year in jail, while he also got a one-year term in another section under the act – with the court ordering to execute both the terms simultaneously,” he said.
The simultaneous terms would mean that Akram would have to serve a seven-year stretch in jail, the prosecutor added.
The court has ordered the district magistrate to collect the fine from the convict’s movable and immovable properties, he also said.
According to the case documents, Sheikh Akram was sued in a case on charge of having properties worth Tk19,443,437 which was disproportionate of his known sources of income.
Besides, the customs officials also hid information about Tk9,211,015 in his wealth statement, while his two wives were also sued in two separate cases on the same charge.
The prosecutor said the three were sued in separate cases – lodged with the city’s Double Mooring Police Station on October 16, 2011 – over the same charge as only a single person could be sued in such charges.
The court delivered the verdict after recording testimonies from seven prosecution witnesses out of 10.
