[ 2012-06-11 ]

Seven arrested for beating two-year-old boy to death
Seven suspects have been remanded in prison
custody for their involvement in the death of a
two-year-old boy at Suma Mantukwa, a farming
community near Nkrankwanta in the Brong Ahafo
Region.

The suspects — Nana Asum Kwame, Peter Kyeremeh,
Anthony Oppong, Sylvester Gyamfi, Oscar Twum,
Emmanuel Danso and William Amponsah — have also
been accused of the unauthorised burial of the
boy.

While Nana Asum Kwame has been charged for a
contemplated offence of murder, the rest of the
suspects have been charged for hindrance of
inquest.

They are to reappear before the Dormaa Ahenkro
Circuit Court on June 13, 2012.

The court, presided over by Mr Alexander Osei
Tutu, also ordered the exhumation of the boy’s
body for autopsy.

The police have mounted a search for an eighth
accomplice, identified as Kwasi Frank.

Asum, 24, is alleged to have subjected the little
boy to severe beating, resulting in his death.

The Dormaa Municipal Police Commander, Deputy
Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mr Mahmud Yussif,
told graphic.com.gh that while Asum’s plea was not
taken, the rest of the suspects pleaded not guilty
to the charge.

According to Mr Yussif, the complainant in the
case, Madam Yaa Diana, 22, was Asum’s girlfriend
and they lived at Suma Mantukwa.

About 5 p.m. on May 27, 2012, Diana prepared
dinner for Asum, but just when they were about to
eat the food, the deceased, Kofi Christian,
defecated on Diana’s laps and so Asum refused to
eat the food.

Instead, he requested Diana to buy him some fried
eggs from outside, which she obliged.

When she returned in about 10 minutes’ time,
Christian was lying motionless on the floor in
their room but the man looked unconcerned.

Diana raised an alarm, which attracted neighbours
to help her but, unfortunately, the child was
already dead.

The elders of the village were informed and they
in turn sent two emissaries to Dormaa Akwamu to
inform Diana’s family about the incident.

On receiving the sad news, the elders of Dormaa
Akwamu also sent two people to Suma Mantukwa to
confirm the veracity of the incident.

According to the police, when the two people
arrived at Suma Mantukwa, they, together with the
other suspects, took Christian’s body to an
adjoining village and buried it there.

Meanwhile, he said, a co-tenant had confided in
Diana that when she left to buy the fried eggs for
Asum, the boyfriend had subjected the little boy
to severe beatings.

Based on the information, Diana made a report to
the police, who arrested Asum and the others for
their various roles in the death and burial of the
boy.

Source - Daily Graphic

... go Back