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Crime & Punishment of Wednesday, 10 October 2007

Source: GNA

Football player fined for defecating at unauthorized place

Tema, Oct 10, GNA -- An 18 year old footballer, Paul Ocansey of Lotsubue in the Dangme West District was made to face humiliation when he was alleged have been made to swallow his own faeces for defecating at an unauthorized place. The Assemblyman for Anhwiam, Mr David Tafa alias Posso, was said to have compelled Ocansey, who is a class three pupil to use his jersey to collect the faeces.

Ocansey was finally escorted to the Chief of Anhwiam, who after interrogation imposed a fine of 45 Gh cedis (450,000 cedis) on culprit. Narrating his ordeal to newsmen at Tema on Wednesday, Ocansey said he accompanied his father, a fisherman to Dambanye for fishing expedition. However on realizing the importance of education, he decided to join his mother at Lotsubue to attend school and was enrolled in the Mangotsonya Primary where he is presently in class three. He said he later joined the "Simplicity" football team of Lotsubue in a match against the "Lion Force" team of Anhwiam at Anhwiam on September 30 this year.

Ocansey said on that day, while the match was in action he had stomach upset and rushed to attend to nature's call nearby and was sported by passers-by who informed the assemblyman. He said immediately the assemblyman got to the scene "he compelled me to taste some of my stool, collect the rest into my jersey and escorted me to the chief, who fined me 500,000 cedis (50 Ghcedis)". "The team leader of the club, who is my brother, Mr bargained for reduction and settled on 450,000 cedis which my brother paid instantly". In a telephone interview with the GNA Sports, the assemblyman denied asking Ocansey to taste the faeces and explained that the spot was close to the community's only source of drinking water. He said he only asked the player to collect the faeces into an old piece of carpet, but "Ocansey got angry and removed his "T" shirt and rather put it in".

He explained that under the bye-laws of the Assembly it was an offence to defecate around sources of drinking water. Meanwhile, the Prampram District Police Commander, ASP Richardson Komeko when contacted on telephone by the GNA Sports also confirmed the incident and said his outfit was investigating it.