Crime Desk || A Dhaka court has sentenced Mohammad Shahed Karim, chairman of Regent Hospital, to one year in prison in a cheque dishonour case involving Tk2.318 million.The verdict was delivered on Sunday by the Third Joint Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court in Dhaka. In addition to the prison term, the court fined Shahed an amount equal to the value of the dishonoured cheque.Defence lawyer Mohammad Dabir Uddin said the judgment had originally been delivered on 3 May in Shahed’s absence. On Sunday, he was shown arrested in the case under the court-issued conviction warrant. His petition for bail was rejected, and the court ordered him to be sent to jail.According to court documents, the case was filed on 26 July 2020 by Hafiz Uddin Bahar, proprietor of Bahar Traders International, alleging that a cheque worth Tk2,318,358 issued by Shahed for construction materials was returned due to insufficient funds.The complainant alleged that although partial payment had been made in cash, the remaining amount was paid through a cheque issued on 10 December 2019. When the cheque was presented to Uttara Bank’s Nawabpur branch on 5 May 2020, it was dishonoured. A legal notice was later served, but the payment was not made within the stipulated period, prompting the case.Shahed had earlier secured a 10-day bail on 30 July in a separate fraud case following a settlement with the complainant. He was arrested again on 20 July in another cheque dishonour case involving Tk21.6 million filed by Mercantile Cooperative Bank and has remained in custody since then.According to his lawyer, Shahed is currently facing 35 criminal cases, including charges related to fraud, illegal wealth and arms offences. In 2020, he was sentenced to life imprisonment in an Arms Act case before later obtaining bail in several cases and being released from prison in September 2024.