'Iron' couple granted bail

A Marketing Consultant and his wife, who allegedly severely molested their 19-year-old house help to the extent of breaking her legs, have been granted bail by an Accra Circuit Court.

The accused persons, Simon Ebo Banson and his wife, Josephine Hodo, heaved a sigh of relief when the court presided over by Mrs. Georgina Mensah Datsa upheld a submission by their counsel, George Agbeko that the charges against them were bailable, with no objection from the prosecutor.

Simon and Josephine were granted a bail of GH¢20,000 and GH¢10,000 with one surety respectively. They are to re-appear on December 7, 2011.

Earlier, the prosecutor, ASP Sarah Acquah, substituted the charge sheet but the charges and facts remained the same. Simon pleaded not guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit crime and causing harm while his wife also denied abetting her husband.

In his submission for bail, the lawyer told the court that Banson was a diabetic who needed to attend hospital for treatment.

Counsel added that the accused was paying medical bills for the victim who was on admission at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital and would on Tuesday undergo surgery.

The prosecutor, on the other hand, informed the court that the accused persons had failed to hand over an iron, wood and a cutlass they used in inflicting injuries on the victim.

The couple, according to facts, allegedly used the excuse that the victim had conspired with some unknown thieves to rob their home and subsequently subjected her to inhumane treatment.

The prosecutor disclosed that the complainant is Akua Serwaa, the victim’s mother, a trader who lives at Hohoe.

The accused persons, Simon Ebo Banson and Josephine Hodo, are a marketing Consultant and Information Communication Technology specialist respectively.

According to the prosecutor, two years ago, the couple, who live at Dansoman, a suburb of Accra, employed the victim as a house help in their house.

ASP Sarah Acquah indicated that in May 2011, the couple accused the victim of conspiring with others to burgle their house but the victim denied the allegation.

The accused then sent the victim to the Dansoman Police Station where she was detained and later released to them.

However, on reaching home, they allegedly locked the victim in the toilet and continually molested her.

The toilet room, according to the prosecutor, became the dwelling place of the victim.

In September 2011, Banson allegedly dragged the victim from the toilet room to their master bedroom and used a hot iron to cause severe burns on the back of the victim.

As if that was not enough, Banson allegedly inflicted cutlass wounds all over the victim’s body.

On October 29, 2011 at about 2:00pm, Banson again dragged the victim from the toilet room to their master bedroom, locked the door and allegedly used a board to hit the victim’s left leg which got broken.

The victim reportedly fell on the floor helplessly, whilst Josephine stood by giving.

On October 30, 2011, at about 8:00am, the victim’s brother, Akwasi Asiedu, a witness, decided to visit his sister who he had not heard from for some time.

On reaching the house of Banson, the accused persons allegedly accused the witness of conspiring to burgle their house.

Banson reportedly pulled a gun on the witness, ordering him to kneel down from 12 noon to 12:00pm with a warning that he would shoot him if he dared get up, while intermittently molesting him.

When he was finally released, he asked of his sister and Banson allegedly told him that she was sick and therefore had been sent to a prayer camp.

Asiedu, who suspected that something serious might have happened to the victim, reported the matter to the Dansoman Police, who rushed to the house and found the victim in a very critical condition and rescued her.

The victim was rushed to the Police Hospital but later referred to Korle-Bu Teaching hospital due to the seriousness of her condition.

The case was transferred to the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit for investigations.