Pantang reject mother killer

The Pantang Psychiatric hospital near Adenta has reportedly again refused to admit Evans Obuaba Laud, the electrician facing murder charge for striking his mother to death with a pestle at Sakumono, a couple of weeks ago, because he is believed to be unfit to be kept at the psychiatric facility.

Evans, who is believed to be insane was earlier sent to the same psychiatric facility after his arrest and was alleged to have been refused admission on what the police said was an advice by a psychiatrist at the health facility, compelling the police to send him back to the Sakumono Estate police station where he was later handcuffed to a metallic container because he could not be detained with other arrested persons in the same police cells.

Unlike in the first refusal which was said to have been carried out by the psychiatric hospital to allow him recover from injuries he sustained on certain parts of his body as a result of lynching by some residents of his area, on hearing of the death of his mother, this time round, he has been refused admission at the same psychiatric facility with an excuse that there was no empty bed to accommodate him.

Superintendent Alex Wowolo, the Sakumono District Police Commander confirmed to Daily GuuideAILY GUIDE that it was indeed true that the murder suspect had been again refused admission at Pantang Psychiatric Hospital.

According to the District Commander, his office arranged and transported the suspect to the health facility at the expense of certain police men only to be told that he could not be admitted at the facility. He continued that not even an arrangement with some persons at the facility to help get him admitted could yield anything positive, as he was asked to be sent back to the police station until there was an empty bed to accommodate him.

“When he was arrested we quickly sent him to court to have place in custody so as to enable us conduct further investigation into the death of his mother. We later realized that he began to behave strangely when we locked him up together with other inmates so we quickly went back to the law court to get an order to send him to the psychiatrist for examination and possibly treated if found to be insane,” the district commander remarked and added that the suspect was refused admission as he was deemed unfit.

He said some relations of the suspect had confirmed to the police and even showed medical records that Evans had been sent to the same psychiatric hospital for treatment some time back and added that it was the more reason he was sent there, but unfortunately he was turned away.

He expressed surprise that in line with a directive from a psychiatrist from the hospital, he again transported the suspect to the health facility, only to be told that he could not be admitted.

The latest development, according to Supt. Wowolo, has compelled his office to send the suspect back to the metallic container to handcuff him there since he could not be kept in the same cell with other inmates.

The police boss however told this paper that his office was planning to go back to the law court to have an order which will direct that the suspect be sent to the Accra Psychiatric hospital, where he hoped Evans might just be admitted.

He was quick to state that even though the suspect was handcuffed to the container, he had always been well taken care of and that he was quickly moved from there anytime there was rain or bad weather.

The suspect’s continuous stay over there, according to Supt. Wowolo, was because the police lacked facilities for such persons.

Readers would recollect that Evans was arrested after striking his mother to death with a pestle. The mother was said to have chided him for his errant behaviour. He was reported to have, on the same day at about 10:30 p.m., gone to his mother’s room and without provocation hit her in the neck with the pestle several times resulting in her death.

His unnamed mother reportedly bled profusely from the mouth and nostril and was said to have died later before some residents of the area could arrive at the scene.

A male resident who was said to have chanced on the scene and tried raising the alarm was reportedly bitten in the lower lip by the suspect and rushed to the Tema General Hospital for treatment.

Evans was subsequently arrested by the police and arraigned before a law court.