Two persons face court charges for insanitary bathhouse drain

Two persons, George Asare and Madam Portia Mensah, have been charged by the Suhum Magistrate Court for insanitary bathhouse drain with blue-algae formation on their premises.

The two accused persons have been fined a sum of 1,800 Ghana cedis each or in default face six months imprisonment with hard labour by Mrs Cynthia Blagoggee, the Presiding Magistrate of the Suhum Court.

The accused persons after failing to comply with notices served on them by Environmental Health Officers pleaded guilty with an explanation, but their explanation was not accepted by the court which therefore fined the duo.

According to the prosecutor, Mr George Theophilus Agyalo, Senior Environmental Health Officer, the first accused person George Asare is a resident at Supresu a farming Community in the Suhum Municipality and an occupant of a house with the mess.

That on 27th October last year, Environmental Health Officers led by Mr Joe Gyato and Mr Isaac Yeboah on their normal routine, visited the premises of the accused person and they found an insanitary bathhouse drain with blue-algae formation.

Mr Agyalo said after the officers introduced themselves to the accused person, they then brought him to the scene of the mess and gave him abatement notice and came back for re-inspection on another day. But George Asare failed to comply with the orders given him.

He stated that on 20th January this year around 1500 hours when the summons was served on the accused person, the mess still existed and he refused to collect the summons but rather insulted the environmental officers to go and find better work to do. He was subsequently issued with a summons to appear before the court.

Mr Agyalo said the second accused person Portia Mensah is also a resident of Supresu a farming community in the Suhum municipality and an occupant of another house and that on the 27th October last year, two of their officers led by Mr Joe Gyato and Mr Isaac Yeboah on their normal routine found an insanitary bathhouse drain with blue-algae formation on the premises of the accused.

He said the accused person refused the collection of the abatement notice given to her by the Environmental Health Officers and also failed to comply with the directive of the officers to get rid of the mess created.

The prosecutor noted that on 20th January this year around 1500 hours when the summons was served on the accused person, the mess created still existed and she refused to collect the summons served on her saying, “I will never come to court today or tomorrow unless you take me by force”.

A bench warrant was subsequently issued for her arrest to face the law court.