Nyaletatsi Deku, a pork joint operator at Ehi, near Dzodze in the Volta Region, was last Friday convicted by the Dzodze District Magistrate’s Court for causing harm to a dog, and ordered to compensate the animal with GH¢500 to enable it to undergo veterinary treatment.
Apart from that, Deku, who pleaded not guilty to a charge of cruelty to animal, was also ordered to pay GH¢300 to the state and an additional GH¢500 to the owner of the pet for the callous act.
The court told Deku to pay the fines simultaneously or serve 12 months in jail in default.
Presenting the facts, Inspector Martin Egyir, told the court presided over by Mr. Lawrence Buer, that on August 16, last year, the accused set up a metal trap at his pork joint, which caught the dog, ‘Dzodze Kwashie,’ and in the process injured one of the hind legs of the dog.
The court heard that Deku left the 18-year-old male dog in the trap to endure the pain for several hours until a nephew of the owner of the pet, who heard its loud cries turned up at the scene to free it from the trap.
That, according to the prosecution, angered Deku, who made up a story to the police, accusing the rescuer of the dog of coming over to the pork joint to steal his (Deku’s) money.
<<Print>>