Dhaka, Nov. 27 -- A stunned silence swept across the packed courtroom when Judge Mohammad Abdullah Al Mamun paused mid-observation and asked: "Sheikh Hasina is a political leader, a four-time prime minister. Why does she need so much money, so much wealth?"

In a scathing rebuke during the verdict over the former prime minister's plot graft case on Thursday, the judge went on to say he was "astonished" by the extent of the wrongdoing before reading out convictions against Hasina, her son and her daughter.

The Dhaka Special Judge Judge Abdullah then read out sentencing in three cases.

The judge added, "Here, RAJUK and the Ministry of Housing and Public Works have done wrong; Hasina has been involved in wrongdoing and has committed fraud....