A Bangladeshi man and four accomplices broke down in tears as a court sentenced them to hang for the murder of a 14-year-old girl who rejected an offer of marriage, officials said on Tuesday.
Spurned suitor Imarul, who uses one name, and the four men were convicted on Monday for killing the girl whose family spurned his offer of marriage.
After the family accepted an offer from another man, Imarul and his accomplices broke into the victim’s bedroom as she slept and abducted her, said court official Abdur Rahman.
They took the girl, named Runa, to a nearby field where she was found dead the next day with knife wounds to the back of her neck, Rahman said.
The five convicted men, aged between 20 and 25, wept as a judge in the western Kushtia district on Monday sentenced them to death for the May 2003 killing, Rahman said.
Rejection of marriage proposals is often cited as the cause of violent attacks in Bangladesh.
A recent study found 16% of acid attacks on women were carried out by spurned suitors.
More than 650 people are currently on death row in Bangladesh where crime is a major political issue. – Sapa-AFP