Liberian president pays compensation to Ghanaian family

MONROVIA, Liberia - President Charles Taylor paid dlrs 15,000 on Saturday to settle a dispute with a woman from Ghana whose 6-year-old son was shot and killed by one of Taylor's bodyguards.

The woman, Lydia Boateng, and her child were riding in a taxi that got in the way of Taylor's motorcade on June 19, witnesses said at the time.

A member of Taylor's Anti-Terrorist Unit opened fire on the vehicle, killing the child and wounding his mother in the side and arm.

The bodyguard was arrested, but it was not clear whether charges were ever brought against him.

Boateng was rushed to Monrovia's St. Joseph Catholic Hospital, but her family said they could not afford the cost of her treatment.

Boateng's husband, Isaac, demanded through the Ghanaian Embassy that the president cover her expenses.

When the government did not respond, the embassy tried to persuade the woman to return to her country for treatment.

She refused until Saturday, when Police Director Paul Mulbah presented the dlrs 15,000 to Ghanaian Ambassador Kwame Amoah-Awuah in the presence of relatives of the victims.

"The president has asked me to present this amount to you. We are sorry that this unfortunate thing has happened," Mulbah told the ambassador.

Boateng now plans to return home with her husband and her child's body within the next few days, embassy officials said.