Bangladesh Burma Shahed, the owner of a hospital in Dhaka, was arrested after issuing thousands of fake Covid-19 negative test results and then trying to flee.

Shahed, the owner of the Regent hospital chain in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka, was arrested on the river's border while trying to escape to India after nine days of being wanted, Colonel Ashique Billah, a Bangladesh police spokesman,

"His hospital performed 10,500 Covid-19 tests, of which 4,200 were accurate and the remaining 6,300 were issued without testing," Colonel Billah said.

Shahed was also charged with charging a negative certification fee and forcing patients to pay for Covid-19 treatment, though he previously agreed with the government that his hospitals in the capital Dhaka would be free of charge for treatment.

Shahed is one of more than a dozen people who have been detained by authorities in recent days over allegations of issuing false-negative certificates to patients even though they did not get tested.

Experts say such fake certificates worsen the situation of Covid-19 in a country of 168 million people, raising doubts about the authenticity of the documents issued by the clinic.

Italy last week suspended flights from Bangladesh to Rome after a number of Bangladeshi passengers tested positive for Covid-19.

"The government must ensure the quality of the Covid-19 test in local laboratories for the benefit of the overseas job market," said Shakirul Islam of the OKUP immigrant rights group.

Updated: 6:21, 7/17 | Source: WorldOMeters