Two "prophets" remanded in prison custody for alleged fraud

Cape Coast Jan. 6 GNA, Two self-styled prophets, Ernest Quarshie a 19 year-old student and Ahmed Coffie 23 year-old trader, both from Kasoa were on Tuesday remanded in prison custody by a circuit court at Cape Coast, for allegedly defrauding one Roberta Brew of 840,000 cedis at Cape Coast.

They both pleaded not guilty and would be re-arraigned on Monday January 19.

Prosecuting, Chief inspector Augustine Amonoo, told the court, presided over by, Mr Mustapha Logoh, that last Saturday, the two men approached Miss Brew, a 16-year-old old student of the University Practice Secondary School and introduced themselves as prophets who could double money by praying over it.

He alleged that they managed to convince her to bring an amount of 840,000 cedis for them to pray over it, and Quarshie further told her that he had had a vision that her aunt and a friend had planned to kill her.

Chief inspector Amonoo, further alleged that they then asked her to go for the money and bring it to be prayed over, and she obliged and on her return, they again asked her to go back home and bring some gravels from her house, before they could pray over the money.

While she was collecting the gravels, a witness in the case enquired as to why she was doing so, and Miss Brew told her about her encounter with the prophets.

Chief inspector Amonoo said the witness then decided to accompany her to the spot to meet them, but the two men had vanished when they got there, so they followed up to the lorry station at Tantri, a suburb of Cape Coast, where they found the two 'prophets' on an Accra-bound vehicle.

They raised the alarm and the two men were arrested, and during a search on them, an amount of 380,000 cedis and a mobile phone, were found on them, and they were handed over to the police, but they could not tell where the balance of Miss Brew's money was.

The court, also remanded in prison custody, Kennedy Kumi, a 30 year-old trader in computers, for allegedly defrauding one Mr Theophilus Davis, a businessman of nine million cedis.

Prosecuting, inspector Hope Azasoo told the court that some time last year Kumi told Mr Davis who intended operating an internet caf=E9, that he could supply him a new 'radio VDI', valued at nine million cedis to enable him receive signals on the internet.

He said Mr Davis paid him the money, but instead of a new VDI, Kumi brought him a used gadget and so he sent it back to him and demanded a new one.

He said some days later, Kumi again sent back the used radio VDI to Mr Davis, who at this point, demanded a refund of his money, but Kumi failed to comply, and instead, started a hide and seek game with Mr Davis, and after sometime, allegedly approached him and asked to be given time to refund the money, but he again failed to do so at the appointed time, and a report was made to the police.