A Cox’s Bazar court sentenced three people to 10 years in prison each for attempting to rape an Australian tourist visiting Cox’s Bazar while each was fined Tk 50,000 and sentenced to one month in prison in default.
(District and Sessions Judge Rokeya Akhter of Cox’s Bazar Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-2 announced the verdict at Monday, July 6, 2026.
Bench Assistant of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-2 Md. Shamim confirmed the matter. He said that the court gave the verdict after recording the testimony of six witnesses in the case.
The convicted accused were not present in the court when the verdict was announced.
The convicted are Ansarullah (29), son of Kalimullah in Penchar Dweep area, Abdul Gafur (26), son of Abdul Monaf, and Belal Uddin (36), son of Ezahar Mia. The court acquitted cottage owner Qayumul Haque Chowdhury in the same case as the charges were not proven against him.
Advocate Mir Mosharraf Hossain Titu, Public Prosecutor (PP) of Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-2, was the state’s lawyer in the case, and Advocate Mohiuddin Moin was the accused’s lawyer.
In the verdict, the court noted that the charges against the accused under Section 9(4)(b)/30 of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act, 2000, have been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
For this, each of them was sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment, a fine of Tk 50,000 and another one month of non-compulsory imprisonment in default.
According to the case report, an Australian citizen came to Bangladesh on December 8, 2019 on an on-arrival visa. On December 14, she checked into ‘Good Vibe Cottage’ located next to Mermaid Beach Resort adjacent to Penchar Island in Cox’s Bazar.
Two days later, late at night, the convicted accused entered the cottage, covered her face while she was sleeping, and tried to rape her. As she resisted, the victim was injured in the scuffle. Later, when she came out of the cottage and screamed, the accused fled.
After the incident, the woman called the national emergency service number 999 and sought police assistance. Upon receiving the information, Ramu police members went to the scene, rescued her, brought her to Cox’s Bazar, and provided her with primary treatment.
During the investigation, the police learned that a security guard at the cottage called Abdul Gafur and Belal there. They originally entered the cottage with the intention of stealing, but later tried to rape the female tourist.
The then Sub-Inspector (SI) of Himchhari police outpost Swarupkanti Das filed a case with Ramu police station in this connection. Later, when Ansarullah and Gafur were arrested and interrogated, they confessed to their involvement in the incident.
