Two cops in a brawl
'COP'
attempt suicide in custody
Jealousy
drags woman into murder
'Akrantie'
eaters risk cancer
Man, 67, promises girl, 12, a store
Two cops in a brawl
The Ashanti Regional Police Commander has directed that Constable Richard Appiah, attached to the Praso Police Station in the Asante-Akim North District, should be immediately put before a service enquiry for brutally assaulting a colleague.
Constable Appiah was said to have beaten up Corporal S.K. Kporviabe of the same station, following a misunderstanding between him and Kporviabe’s wife. Accused of gross misconduct, Constable Appiah has already been transferred to Asiwa as an interim disciplinary measure pending the outcome of the service enquiry.
A police spokesman told the “Times” that Constable Appiah, stationed at Konongo, was posted to the Praso Police Station on attachment last year. In the course of stay, he was said to have picked a quarrel with Cpl. Kpoviabe’s wife at the barracks during which he allegedly stated that the corporal married a thief.
Sanity was restored following the intervention of other policemen but Constable Appiah, last November 5, allegedly verbally attacked Cpl. Kporviabe, calling him names in front of the police station.
When Cpl. Kporviabe asked Constable Appiah why he was insulting him, he (Appiah) grew furious, pounced on him and slapped him several times until he bled from the mouth. Cpl. Kporviabe left the station for town to seek medical care but he was chased and again brutally assaulted by Constable Appiah.
The Corporal was rescued by some of the townsfolk after, which he threatened to report Constable Appiah’s conduct to Mr S.Y. Amponsah, the Konongo District Police Commander. Constable Appiah, rebuffing the threats, allegedly retorted “you can report me to the District Police Commander. After all he is not God.”
Col. Kporviabe then went to the lorry park to board a vehicle for Konongo with the view to making a report to the District Commander but Constable Appiah joined the vehicle and after exchanging words with Corporal Kporviabe, ordered the driver not to move.
The situation compelled Cpl. Kporviabe to alight from the vehicle to lodge an official complaint at the police charge office. When the District Commander was informed of the case, a decision was taken to transfer Constable Appiah from the station as an interim disciplinary measure.
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A Chief State Attorney, Mrs Betty Mould Iddrissu, has called for the reform of the Intestate Succession Law. “This is because it has been found out that the law applies differently or is regarded differently according to the type of marriage contracted and the customary form of inheritance,” she explained.
Mrs Iddrissu made these remarks during a day’s roundtable discussion in Accra, on the theme “Challenges faced by the Intestate Succession Law, 1985 (PNDCL 111) as amended, strategies for promoting the enforcement of Maintenance Orders”.
It was organised by the Family Law Focal Area of the German Development Corporation (GTZ) – Legal Pluralism and Gender Project, to enable participants look at the law and come up with proposals on how to make it work.
Mrs Iddrissu, who is the Head of International Law Division of the Ministry of Justice, said: “We have to accept and to be able to brace up to the challenges entailed in the interpretation of the law. We must now face up to the situation that a lot of women in Ghana are not married and so the society must be able to provide adequate protection for Common Law wise,” she said.
She expressed concern that some laws which were passed without due consultation or input from women who invariably, were directly affected. Mrs Iddrissu regretted that government had not been committed to see to the implementation of the law.
For her part, Mrs Christine Dowuona-Hammond, Faculty of Law, University of Ghana, Legon said that it was clear that the law was not responsive to the circumstances of the rural population. “It almost uproots and modifies common law practices and traditions which they have lived with all these years,” Mrs Iddrissu observed. She called for a widespread education, counselling and rigorous literacy programmes to increase awareness and practices of law.
In his contribution, Nana Mfodwo II, Asirihene and Akwamuhene of Suma Tradtional Area in the Brong Ahafo Region, said contrary to the notion that most Ghanaians were not aware of the law, many people knew the law, “but it is the interpretation which is different.
He said in a country where the per capita income is just about 400 dollars, it stands to reason that in a lot of cases, the property left to be shared is to small that conflicts arise as to proportions to be shared.
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The population of medical doctors produced for the country has since 1974 not increased. This has resulted in one doctor handling 12,000 patients in Accra and 66,000 patients in the Upper West Region. Coupled with this is the country’s loss of 50 per cent of its State Registered Nurses (SRN) in the last five years.
At night at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital for instance, a nurse is tasked with the care of 40 patients. The Chief Pathologist of Ghana, Dr Agyeman Badu Akosa, disclosed in a lecture last Tuesday.
He noted that the drain of medical professionals was worrying as its impact on the country was felt instantly. He said the situation could be halted if medical professional were paid decent wages. “The country must stop treating its professionals abysmally,” he said.
Citing examples from other countries, Professor Akosa noted that it was rare for health professionals in either Zambia or Namibia to leave their countries for Ghana because they were satisfied with their salaries.
Even in neighbouring Nigeria, since salaries of health professionals were increased in the last six months, all Nigerian doctors in Ghana have left the country,” he added.
GRi…/
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'COP'
attempt suicide in custody
A
36-year-old self-styled policeman who could not withstand the humiliation of
being arraigned before court for stealing decided to end it through suicide
while in custody.
The
suspect, Kwaku Obeng, who failed in his attempt to die prematurely by taking
some quantity of poison, has been sentenced to an 18-month jail term with hard
labour by a Swedru Community Tribunal. Apart from that, Obeng is also to serve
six months and 18 months with hard labour for pretending to be a public officer
and stealing respectively. The sentences are to run concurrently.
Consequently,
Kwaku Obeng, 36, was given an 18- month jail term with hard labour by the
Swedru Community Tribunal for attempting to commit suicide. Obeng who hails from
Akim Achiase, but resides at Agona Nyakrom pleaded guilty to the charges. The
tribunal, chaired by Mr Abdul Fatawu Yakubu, handed him the custodial sentence
to deter others.
Chief
Inspector Lydia Vondee told the tribunal that Obeng went to Agona Nkum and
posed as a policeman detailed to investigate a case there. On December 11,
2001, Obeng and his girlfriend were guests of Nana Amanfo II, a chief of Nkum
and he gave them one of his rooms to pass the night.
The
following morning, the chief realized to his chagrin that his guests and his
chainsaw machine worth ¢5 million were gone.
Obeng was
arrested by the police and arraigned before the tribunal, which remanded him
into prison custody after he pleaded not guilty to stealing.
On December
20, when witnesses testified against him, Obeng changed his plea to guilty and
he was again remanded to appear before the tribunal a week later for
sentencing.
The
prosecutor said while Obeng was waiting to be escorted back to prison, one Yaw Manu,
now deceased who was also facing a charge of stealing, came and sat by him.
Manu allegedly told Obeng that it would be a shame for him (Manu) to go to
prison for the third time as he had already served two previous convictions.
Therefore,
whether he has been granted bail or not he was going to kill himself with a
substance in his possession. Chief Inspector Vondee said Obeng expressed
interest in the idea and took some of the poison offered by Manu. She said
after the close of the tribunal's sitting, Obeng was being escorted to the
Winneba Prisons when just a few metres away from the court premises he
complained of serious stomach pains.
There and
then he collapsed and started foaming at the mouth. He was rushed to the Swedru
Government Hospital where he later regained consciousness. He then confessed to
the policemen that it was Manu who gave him the poison. The police traced Manu
to his house at Nyakrom but he was nowhere to be found so a message was left
for him to report at the station.
Three days
later Manu, who had heard of Obeng's case, reported at the police station and
got detained. However, about five minutes later he began foaming and vomiting
amid complaints that he was having stomach pains. He told his cell mates that
he had taken some poison to kill himself, thus prompting the cell mates to call
the attention of the police.
When the
cell was opened Manu was found lying on the floor. He was rushed to the Swedru
Government Hospital, but try as the paramedics would, they could not revive him.
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Jealousy
drags woman into murder
Jealousy
has dragged a 30-year-old woman at Fiapre, near Sunyani, into serious trouble
with the law as a pregnant woman she allegedly assaulted died during labour at
the Berekum Hospital.
Mercy
Benteh, who allegedly assaulted the pregnant woman, Felicia Boakye, 26 for
snatching her boyfriend, leading to her death, has appeared before a Sunyani
community tribunal on a provisional charge of murder. Her plea was not taken
and the tribunal chaired by Mr. C.A. Wilson, has remanded her in prison custody
till January 28.
The
prosecutor, Sergeant Lennox Aidoo, in calling for Mercy to be remanded, said
she would interfere with investigations if granted bail. Counsel for Mercy,
Akwasi Boakye, argued for bail on the grounds that the prosecution was yet to
investigate whether or not Mercy was responsible for the death of Felicia.
Counsel
said the facts of the case did not support the charge of murder and it would be
unfair to keep his client in custody.
In
remanding Mercy, the tribunal said it was too early to grant bail since
investigations were still in progress.
The facts
of the case as presented by the prosecution were that both Mercy and Felicia
lived in Fiapre. On July 15, last year, Felicia then 17 weeks pregnant went to
the market to buy some items and on her return she passed by the house of
Mercy.
On seeing
Felicia, Mercy pounced on her without any provocation with the excuse that
Felicia's husband was her former boyfriend who left her because of Felicia.
Felicia lodged a complaint with the police after which Mercy was arrested and
charged with the offence of assault before the tribunal.
According
to the prosecution, Felicia was given a form to go to hospital. However, she
died during delivery at the hospital, which led the police to re-arrest Mercy.
GRi…/
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'Akrantie'
eaters risk cancer
One of
Ghana's most celebrated delicacies -grasscutter meat - has become spotlighted
in a health-related controversy, which has attracted the attention of your
favourite weekend paper, The Spectator.
The paper
has been reliably informed by the health authorities that consumers of the
popular grasscutter meat, better known as "Akrantie" could cause
health conditions ranging from cancer to low-sperm count.
It all
depends on how the grasscutter is killed. Normally, grasscutter, which belongs
to the rat family, is killed with traps, although using guns is also a popular
method. In the villages, they are sometimes attracted to the traps by use of
fermented urine, and in the process they are caught for food.
This method
is harmless as far as the health of consumers is concerned. What is harmful,
however, is the use of DDT, also known as Gammalin 20, by some hunters to
poison grasscutters for easy catch.
A
Veterinary Officer of the Veterinary Services Department of the Ministry of
Food and Agriculture, Dr Ernest Owusu, in a recent interview told "The
Spectator" that the effect of consuming grasscutter killed with chemicals
depends on the quantity ingested by the animal or the extent to which the
chemical has been absorbed by the organs of the animal.
A study on DDT
conducted by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, History Office,
indicates that DDT could cause cancer, low-sperm count and can also affect the
neurons of humans. "Acute poisoning through the consumption of DDT in
humans also leads to tremors, confusion, headache, fatigue and vomiting,"
he explained.
Medical
experts at the Noguchi Memorial Research Institute (NMIR) also offered their
opinion. According to them, DDT can cause low sperm count in men and spasms as
a result of its effect on the nerves. Formalin, a chemical, is also used to
preserve grasscutter when killed to preserve freshness and, therefore, maintain
its market value. This chemical, according to the health authorities can also
harm the human body if ingested.
At the
Ghana Wildlife Society offices, Mr Samuel Kofi Nyame, Project Manager of
Wetlands and Waterbirds Conservation, did not rule out the fact that some
hunters use chemicals to hunt grasscutters. "If it is true that chemicals
are used to hunt the grasscutter, it may not be injurious for human consumption
as health risks associated with eating of grasscutters might have been evident
by now," he opined.
He
continued by saying that the use of fermented urine in trapping grasscutter is,
however, not poisonous to consumers. "Although fermented urine becomes
urea which is a waste product, it does not affect the health status of
consumers of grasscutter meat. It is the chemicals which are harmful to humans,
which when they consume grasscutters that have become victims of poisoning,"
he said."
It is
important that ‘chopbar’ owners and individuals who buy grasscutters whether
dried, roasted or fresh to ascertain that the animal has either been shot or
trapped before they buy it. Bruises on the skin of the animal also means it has
been killed with sticks or trapped, meaning it is safe to eat," he said
with emphasis.
Over the
years, guns, sticks and traps have been used to kill grasscutters for sale. But
the high demand of this delicacy, which sells at a high price has compelled
some hunters to resort to the use of unorthodox methods like poisoning with
chemicals which can be a serious public health hazard if not checked.
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Man, 67, promises girl, 12, a store
A 67
year-old man, who defiled a 12-year-old girl, has been granted bail of ¢20
million by an Accra Circuit Tribunal chaired by Mr Mohammed Nabon. The accused,
Kwaku Opoku, a watchman, pleaded not guilty to the offence.
The
prosecution told the court that the victim lives at Nii Boye Town in Accra with
her mother and the accused also lives in the same vicinity. In December last
year Opoku, on two occasions, lured the victim into his room and forcibly
defiled her.
He warned
her against disclosing the act to anyone and promised to put up a provisions
store for her. Opoku later went to the victim's house to call the girl and when
her mother saw them and questioned her she revealed all that Opoku had done to
her. A report was made to the police
and Opoku was arrested.
GRi…/
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