GRi in Court Ghana 29 - 09 - 2000
Driver
remanded for killing eight people
Six
Chinese to be repatriated for possessing forged documents
Driver remanded for killing eight
people
Accra (Greater Accra) 29 September 2000
An Accra Circuit Tribunal on Thursday remanded
in custody a 33 year-old driver, whose truck was involved in an accident at
Pokuase on October 12 last year that led to the death of eight people.
Victor Akpladey, 33, was allegedly trying to
overtake an OSA bus and in the process his truck, which was carrying sand,
collided with six other vehicles leading to the deaths.
He pleaded not guilty to 32 counts of reckless
driving, negligently causing harm, failing to attend to the injured and failing
to report accident to the police.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Elizabeth
Alormatu told the tribunal chaired by Mr. Mohammed Nabon that at about 0630
hours on that day, Akpladey was driving a Mercedes Benz tipper truck from
Amasaman area towards Accra.
DSP Alormatu said at Pokuase, near John Teye
Memorial School, the accused person who was speeding forcibly tried to overtake
an OSA bus, which was also heading towards Accra.
He then spotted a Mercedes Benz and Kia mini
buses in the other lane driving towards Amasaman. He, therefore, hit the left
rear portion of the OSA bus, which in turn hit two stationary trucks that fell
into a ditch.
The tipper truck then had a head-on collision
with the on-coming Mercedes Benz mini bus, killing seven passengers instantly.
According to DSP Alormatu, the tipper truck
eventually landed on the Kia bus killing the driver, an Indian.
The prosecutor said several passengers on board
the Benz and the OSA buses that sustained various degrees of injury were rushed
to the 37 Military and the Police Hospitals.
The prosecutor said all the six vehicles
involved in the accident were damaged beyond repair. Akpladey, realising his
fault, failed to report the matter to the police. He also failed to attend to
the injured and went into hiding.
GRi…/
Six Chinese to be repatriated for possessing
forged documents
Accra (Greater Accra) 29 September 2000
The Osu Community Tribunal on Thursday
sentenced six Chinese to six months' imprisonment each for possessing forged
travelling documents.
The Tribunal also ordered that they should be
repatriated after serving their prison terms.
They are Sun Zhinhua 32, Xiao Junxin 22, Cheng
Chongxin 32, Pan Fufeng 22, Wang Menghon 22 and Yang Xiongese 21. They all
pleaded guilty to the offence.
Prosecuting, Constant Hometowu, Deputy
Superintendent of Immigration (DSI), told the tribunal presided by Mrs Ivy
Heyward Mills, that the accused persons were intercepted by Ghana Airways
officials at the Kotoka International Airport on September 19 on suspicion of
travelling on fake Ghanaian and American visas.
According to DSI Hometowu, the accused said
they were met on arrival by a Chinese, named "Lin" and taken to an
unknown hotel in Accra.
According to them, the "connection
man" at home advised them to destroy the tickets on arrival in Ghana.
He said the accused, alleged that the forged
American visas were obtained in Ghana through Lin, after paying various sums of
money ranging from 3,200 dollars to 5,000 dollars.
DSI Hometowu said they were told the money
would cover the cost of visas and tickets to enable them to travel to
Baltimore, USA, and their final destination.
According to DSI Hometowu, the US Embassy in
Ghana has confirmed that the visas were not issued by their counterparts in
Beijing or any other US Government Authority.
GRi…/