Draughtsman remanded in custody

Ejisu (Ashanti), 16 March '99-

The Ejisu-Juaben Community Tribunal has remanded a 58-year-old draughtsman, Paul Barfi in prison custody for posing as a public officer and undertaking acts of forgery. The plea of Barfi, who operates at Kumawu-Ashanti, was not taken and will re-appear on Thursday, March 18. Police Chief Inspector C. K. Atiogbe, prosecuting, told the tribunal chaired by Mr W. K. Owusu that the police had information that the accused indulged in preparing fictitious site lay-outs and building plans for chiefs and landowners in and around Kumawu in the Sekyere East district. The prosecutor said the accused was arrested and when his room was searched, several fictitious site lay-outs and building plans with forged signatures of the Ejisu-Juaben district Town and Country Planning Officer, Mr Augustine Kusi and a Chartered Licensing Surveyor, Mr E. Oppong of Kumasi were found. Chief Inspector Atiogbe said police investigation revealed that the accused has been indulged in such forgery acts for many years. The prosecutor said a thorough search in the room of the accused revealed a stamp belonging to the District Town and Country Planning Officer concealed in a box iron. Meanwhile, the stamp of the chartered licensing surveyor, which the accused also managed to manufacture is yet to be retrieved, Chief Inspector Atiogbe said. Chief Inspector Atiogbe said when Mr Kusi and Mr Oppong were invited to the police station and interrogated, they denied any knowledge of the documents and the stamp.