Former Health Department driver Abdul Malek sentenced to 13 years in prison
A court has sentenced former DGHS driver Abdul Malek to 13 years in prison in a case of acquiring illegal wealth. Judge Zakaria Hossain of Dhaka’s Special Judge Court-6 announced the verdict on Sunday. He has been sentenced to 10 years in prison and a fine of Tk 100,000 for amassing wealth through undisclosed income. He will have to serve another six months in jail if he fails to pay the fine. He has also been sentenced to another three years in prison for concealing information about his assets. The court has also ordered the confiscation of Abdul Malek’s assets worth Tk 15 million.
Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) lawyer Asaduzzaman said that Abdul Malek could face a maximum of 10 years in prison in this case.
The court has set April 16 as the date for hearing another case filed against Abdul Malek and his wife on charges of acquiring illegal wealth.
It is worth noting that on February 14, 2021, ACC assistant driver Syed Nazrul Islam filed a case against former DGHS driver Abdul Malek and his wife Nargis Begum on charges of acquiring illegal assets worth Tk 1,10,92,500.
The case details state that Abdul Malek directly assisted his wife in acquiring assets of unknown income. On the same day, another case was filed against Abdul Malek on charges of acquiring illegal assets worth Tk 1,50,31,810 and submitting false information worth Tk 9,353,648. On October 27, the ACC filed charge sheets in both cases.
Incidentally, on September 20, 2020, RAB members arrested Abdul Malek from the Turag police station area of the capital on charges of being involved in extortion and illegal arms trade. Later, on September 20, 2021, a Dhaka court sentenced Abdul Malek to 30 years in prison in the arms case.
