2 fined for possessing lumber illegally
The Dormaa Circuit Court presided by Mr Alexander Osei Tutu, has convicted two persons for possessing lumber illegally sawn with chain machine.
Mike Alogba and Kwamena Arthur pleaded guilty and were fined GH¢360.00 and GH¢240.00 fine respectively or spend three months each in jail.
Inspector Bernard Lartey told the court that the Dormaa Municipal Task force set-up to fight illegal lumbering and cocoa smuggling at about 2130 hours on March 13 this year intercepted a Mercedes Benz cargo truck with registration number AS 2848 U carrying 500 pieces of chainsaw lumber at Kwabena-Dwomokrom near Kasapin.
He said Alogba claimed ownership of the lumber, which were neither properly marked nor covered with valid documents.
Inspector Lartey said the task force ordered the lumber to be sent to the offices of the Dormaa Municipal Assembly and Alogba was handed over to the police.
Arthur, on his part was arrested by the task force the same day while attempting to convey 280 pieces of chainsaw lumber aboard a KIA truck with registration number AW 833 Y from Kwakuanya, a cocoa farming community near Nkran-kwanta to an undisclosed timber market.
Inspector Lartey said the suspect upon interrogation claimed ownership of the lumber but was yet to acquire the relevant covering documents.
The same court imposed a fine of GH¢2,400.00 on Alfred Asamoah, a taxi driver at Dormaa-Ahenkro for negligently causing the death of a 60 year-old woman, Grace Abena Mansa, two years ago.
Alfred knocked the woman with his TICO taxi cab with registration number GW 3563 Z in the evening of March 26, 2009, rendering her unconscious till she died about a month later.
The convict would serve three years imprisonment in-hard-labour (IHL) if he defaulted in paying the fine.
Prosecuting, Inspector Charles Agovi told the court Alfred knocked the woman at a spot near the offices of the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) in Dormaa-Ahenkro around 2000 hours that day.
The woman was initially rushed to Dormaa Presbyterian Hospital but had to be transferred to the Duayaw-Nkwanta St. John of God Hospital later due to multiple fracture and extensive damage to her head.
Inspector Agovi told the court that the woman died of her injuries and a post-mortem by a pathologist gave the cause of death as severe head injury.
“Following her demise, a duplicate docket on the driver was forwarded to the Attorney-General’s Department from where it was advised that he should be charged with negligently causing harm and prosecuted accordingly” the prosecutor told Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview.
Source: GNA