Four persons suspected to be members of a police recruitment syndicate have appeared before the Accra Circuit Court for allegedly defrauding more than 150 young men and women of GH�250,000 on the pretext of enlisting them into the Ghana Police Service.
The suspects ���� a police inspector, two civilian employees of the Police Service and a businessman � all pleaded not guilty to two counts of conspiracy to defraud by false pretences and defrauding by false pretences and they were each admitted to bail in the sum of GH�10,000, with three sureties.
They are also to report themselves to the police on a daily basis for two weeks to assist the police in their investigations.
They are Inspector Senyo Ameyaw, a laboratory technician at the Police Hospital; Faustina Kuma and Daniel Danso, civilian employees at the Police Headquarters, and Sylvanus Kuma, the businessman.
They were arrested at the Police Hospital, where about 150 prospective recruits had gathered to undergo purported medical screening as part of the recruitment process, about 2 a.m. last Saturday.
Prosecuting, Deputy Superintendent of Police Mr Abraham Annor, who had a hectic time with lawyers for the accused persons over bail, told the court that the suspects collected various sums, ranging between GH�2,000 and GH�3,000, from the recruits.
So far, he said, GH�81,275 had been retrieved from the suspects.
He said the prospective recruits were to report to Inspector Senyo at the laboratory, but during the exercise the Police Administration got wind of the fraudulent activities and dispatched a team from the Panthers Unit to the Police Hospital where the suspects and the victims were arrested.
Mr Annor said a search conducted revealed various enlistment related documents and the cash, which were retrieved.
He prayed the court to remand the accused persons to enable the police to conduct thorough investigations into the matter, since the victims involved were many.
He said the prosecution did not want to keep the accused persons beyond the period stipulated by law, while it also wanted to do a good job to convince the court of the complicity of the suspects.
On the next adjourned date, he said, the prosecution would show the court the various roles played by each of the suspects.
That argument by the prosecutor was predicated on a question by the judge, Mrs Patience Mills Tetteh, concerning the exact role played by Faustina in the alleged crime.
According to the lawyers, the offences were not among those offences for which the law proscribed bail and that the suspects were persons of substance who would avail themselves to stand trial. However, in the end, arguments put up by the defence lawyers found favour with the judge.
<<Print>>