Court fines communal labour evaders

Dormaa-Ahenkro (B/A), June 1, GNA - A circuit court in Dormaa Ahenkro has imposed fines, ranging between GHC96.00 and GHC362.00, on four residents of Baabianeha, a farming community, for evading communal labour and failure to pay penalty for the default. Each of the convicts will serve jail terms in default of payment of the fines. Bukari Alhassan, Principal Environmental Health Officer of the Dormaa Municipal Assembly, told the court, presided over by Mr Alexander Osei Tutu that, Akoto Evans, Kwame Stephen, Adwoa Haggar and Opanin Ansu refused to participate in a communal labour exercise on August 18, 2010. He said the four convicts were found to have absented themselves from the exercise without any clearance. Mr Alhasan said they were invited by the leadership of the town and asked to pay an on-the-spot fine of GHC10.00 each but they all refused to pay. Prosecutor said the defaulters were handed over to his office and were later arraigned before the court for their refusal to participate in the exercise. Akoto Evans received the highest fine of GHC362.00 for compelling the court to issue a bench warrant for his arrest, while Opanin Ansu received the least of GHC96.00. Each of the convicts was also ordered by the court to pay the mandatory GHC10.00 default fine to Baabianeha community.