Mohammad Sahed Karim, chairman of Regent Hospital, was shown arrested on August 2 in a Tk2,318,358 cheque dishonour case.
The Third Joint Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court in Dhaka rejected his bail petition and ordered that he be sent to jail.
Judge Md Ariful Islam sentenced Sahed to one year in prison on May 3, when he was absent from court.
The court also imposed a fine equal to the cheque amount.
Defence lawyer Dabir Uddin said Sahed’s side knew of another case filed over the same matter in July 2020 but had not been aware of the cheque dishonour case.
He said that lack of notice was why the verdict was issued in Sahed’s absence.
The complaint was filed on July 26, 2020 by Hafiz Uddin Bahar, proprietor of Bahar Traders International.
The case alleges that Sahed had agreed to buy construction materials and initially made some cash payments before using cheques.
It further alleges that he issued a Tk2,318,358 cheque dated December 10, 2019, which was returned on May 5, 2020 because the account lacked sufficient funds.
The complainant’s account says a legal notice seeking payment within one month was sent on June 2, 2020 and that payment was not made within that period.
Sahed had already been in custody after police arrested him on July 20 on a warrant in a separate Tk21.6 million cheque dishonour case involving Mercantile Co-operative Bank.
Dabir Uddin said Sahed faces a total of 35 cases.