Court fines Accountant two million cedis for assault

Tamale, Aug. 11, GNA - A Tamale District Court on Monday imposed a fine of two million cedis on Felelatu Seidu Seini, an accountant at the Tamale Regional Hospital for assault.

He will go to jail for six months if he fails to pay the fine. Madam Seini who pleaded not guilty was charged with abetment of assault and assaulting Miss Juliana Mensah, a staff of the Standard Chartered Bank in Tamale.

Prosecuting, Mr Rexford Anthony Wiredu, a Senior State Attorney told the court that the complainant, Miss Mensah, was a former employee of the Hospital and also a next door neighbour of the accused at Kalpohin Estate in Tamale.

He said in 1998, the complainant and the daughter of the accused, Rabi Seini, went to fetch water at a borehole where a quarrel developed between them.

The daughter, the prosecution said, came and reported the matter to her mother who then decided not to be on talking terms with the complainant and her family.

The prosecution said the matter was however, settled but Madam Seini who was not satisfied with the settlement, sought the assistance of one Abu Mohammed, now at large, "to discipline the complainant". He said the accused and Mohammed arranged to "teach the complainant a lesson" by giving her a mark "so that when she goes to her hometown in the South, she would remember the North".

Mohammed and another person, whom the prosecutor described as "macho men", went on a motorcycle to the complainant's house and invited her out in the presence of the accused.

When Miss Mensah came out they demanded an apology from her to the accused but she refused to apologise saying, " I did nothing wrong to Madam Seini".

The prosecution said under the instruction of Madam Seini, Mohammed slapped Miss Mensah, who fell and became unconscious and had to be rushed to the Tamale Regional Hospital.

She was later referred to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hopital (KATH) in Kumasi where she was diagnosed as suffering from "an acute audiological problem", which could lead to a permanent hearing impairment.

The prosecution said the matter was reported to the police and the accused was arrested and put before the then Circuit Tribunal in Tamale but the case could not come on because all the panel members refused to sit on it for personal reasons.

He said the complainant then petitioned the then Chief Justice, Mr Justice Isaac Abban, who instructed the Supervising High Court Judge by a letter dated May 9, 2000 to report to the police to re-arrest the accused and put her before a court of competent jurisdiction.

The accused person was therefore, arrested and arraigned at the then Community Tribunal, now a District Court.

Before passing judgment, Mrs Gyamfi advised the parties involved in the case "to exercise restraint from now onwards".

She said: "If families live at peace with each other, it is then that the whole community can have peace".

The Judge advised the complainant that she could file a civil suit against the accused person for damages as a result of the assault.