A failed ‘spiritual exercise’ by a fetish priest to identify a laptop thief has left the palm of a 16-year-old boy burnt at Akyem Sekyere in the Eastern Region.

The boy, Yaw Prince, was accused of stealing a laptop and was sent to the 22-year-old fetish priest, Kwasi Afari, to use spiritual means to establish if it was the Prince who stole it.

At the shrine, the fetish priest was said to have force-opened the right palm of Prince and put the gunpowder into it. The priest then lit the gunpowder in the hands of Prince, causing his palm to burn.

The fetish priest has was on Tuesday arrested by the Police but was granted bail to assist in investigations into the incident which happened three weeks ago.

Prince is currently receiving treatment at the Enyiresi Government Hospital, Kofi Baffour Nketia, an opinion leader at Akyem Sekyere told Onua FM Wednesday.

According to him Baffour Nketia, Prince was not taken to hospital for immediate medical attention but was kept at home, causing his right palm to become an infected sore. He said it was yesterday that he got information that Prince was sick and that he was being kept at home.

He said he went to the house where the ordeal of Prince was narrated to him. Baffour Nketia said Prince’s mother claimed she did not have money that is why she could not take the her son to hospital for medical attention.