ISLAMABAD, Jan 12: An accountability court on Saturday awarded Chaudhry Mohammad Zaman, the ex-director of agriculture (extension), Rawalpindi, five years rigorous imprisonment, imposed a fine of Rs500,000 and ordered to forfeit his total property, in a corruption case.

Judge Sakhi Hussain Bokhari, however, acquitted three other co-accused — Chaudhry Sarwar (storekeeper), Saifullah Chaudhry (admin officer) and Zaigham Pervez Khan (accounts clerk) — as the charges could not be proved against them.

In case Mr Zaman fails to pay the fine, he will have to undergo a further term of two-year RI.

Mr Zaman was convicted on charges of accumulating wealth to the tune of Rs13 million, disproportionate to his known sources of income, by misusing his official authority.

The court, however, granted him the benefit of section 382-B of criminal procedure code (CrPC) under which his sentence would be counted from the day of his arrest. He was arrested in June 2001.

After the announcement of the verdict, Mr Zaman said that he would challenge the conviction in Lahore High Court.

The court has also barred Mr Zaman from holding any public office or seeking any monetary gains from any financial institution for a period of 10 years under section 15(a) and 15(b) of the NAB ordinance.

The property, which has been forfeited, includes 391 kanals of land in Rawalpindi and Gujrat, two houses in Bahar colony, Lahore, and defence saving certificates worth millions of rupees.

Mr Zaman was also charged for fake purchases of different items including stationery and furniture through fictitious firms.

He also embezzled funds through payments to the companies, which either did not exist or their proprietors later denied these transactions. These payments were made to the tune of Rs739,531.