One of the six defendants on trial for the murder of Trooper Sherrif Imoro in Taifa, an Ashaiman neighborhood in the Greater Accra Region, has been freed due to health reasons.
The court presided over by Simon J. Gaga has granted him GHC150,000 bail with three sureties, two of whom must be justified with landed holdings.
Another suspect, though, is pleading for more food and complaining that he is being malnourished.
This comes after two attorneys fought the prosecution for more than 30 minutes to get the accused people released on bond instead of the prosecution's preferred option of keeping them in custody.
Attorneys who solely defended those detained and charged with dishonestly obtaining stolen property pleaded with the court to approve their request. Attorneys for three of the four defendants informed the court that Ibrahim Abdul Rakib, the third defendant, had been suffering from an ulcer while being held in detention.
As holding him in detention may worsen his health condition, he thus requested the court grant him bail so that he could get the required medical treatment.
Nevertheless, the prosecution, which was headed by Superintendent Sylvester Asare, contested the bail and requested that the case be postponed.
He claims that the case's investigations are far along since the prosecution needs time to finish.
He emphasized that keeping suspects in jail is in both their own and the public's best interests.
The prosecution claims that releasing them on bail will hinder and interfere with the investigations.
The prosecutor disproved the argument that the defendant requested release due to health reasons by asserting that he never complained of being ill while in detention.
He said that the prosecution is prepared to provide the accused with medical care at the police hospital.
Strangely, one of the key suspects, Samuel Tetteh, raised his hand before the presiding judge could finish typing his decision.
To the shock of the audience, he responded that the food provided for him while he was in detention was insufficient when the judge questioned him why.
He also pleaded with the court to order the prosecution to provide him with enough sustenance.
Nevertheless, the court granted health-related relief to the third accused after carefully considering bail requests from counsel and objections from the prosecution.
The remaining five accused, meanwhile, were remanded by the court into police custody so that investigations could proceed.
The court additionally instructed the police to ensure the detained suspects are healthy enough to testify at trial to prevent unintended outcomes.
The four defendants are defending themselves against the allegation of dishonestly accepting stolen property, while the primary two suspects detained for the murder of the soldier are on trial for conspiracy to commit a crime, including attempted robbery and robbery.
blogpay
Total Comments: 0