A 33-year-old nursing mother, Joana Essien, has been granted bail in the sum of GH? 2, 000 by the Tarkwa circuit court, for defrauding by false pretence. Her plea was not taken and will re-appear before court on August 2.

Prosecuting, Detective Chief Inspector Oscar Amponsah told the court, presided over by Mr. Samuel Obeng Diawuo that about four months ago, the complainant contacted the accused that she wanted a room to rent.

He said the accused, who is also a tenant in the house she resides in at Tarkwa deceived the complainant that she was the landlady and could secure her a room to rent.

According to the prosecutor, the accused then bargained with the complainant to pay GHC50.00 per month for two years, which amounted to GH? 1, 200.00, but the complainant paid GH? 900.00 to the accused.

Detective Amponsah said, the accused later told the complainant that the tenant occupying the room she would be releasing to her was going on transfer and that she needed the rest of the money to refund to the tenant to enable the complainant occupy the room immediately he left.

He said the accused after collecting the money from the complainant went into hiding and all efforts to trace her proved futile.

The complainant later reported the matter to the police.

The Prosecutor said, on July 25, this year the complainant spotted the accused in Tarkwa Township and alerted the police and was arrested.

Detective Amponsah said while the accused was pleading for time to refund the money to the complainant at the police station, another woman came with a writ summons from the Tarkwa district court to the effect that the accused used the same room to collect an undisclosed amount from her, but failed to give her the room.**