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The case involving the murder of a househelp at Dansoman took a new twist at the Accra Magistrates’ Court in Accra last Wednesday , when the presiding magistrate asked the Police Hospital authorities to release a medical report on the health status of two of the accused persons.

According to the magistrate, the court would issue an order for the report to be produced during the court’s next sitting on the case if the advice was not heeded.

The said medical report, which is to ascertain whether two of the five accused persons are medically fit to be on remand, is one of the documents the defence is relying on to apply for bail for the accused persons at the Human Rights Court.

Fishing expedition

Making a case for the release of the report, Mr George Bernard Shaw, counsel for Constable Wisdom Agbemordzi and Constable Clifford Atsutsey, said his clients were suffering from tuberculosis and chicken pox respectively, and, therefore, the medical report to confirm these must be released by the Police Hospital to expedite proceedings for bail for the them.

Mr Shaw expressed his frustration over the snail’s pace  of the case and accused the police of dragging their feet because of the lack of evidence to incriminate the suspects.

“It looks as if the police are now on a fishing expedition to find evidence to link them to the crime. I have no problem with that, but while that is ongoing, the suspects must be allowed to have their liberty,” he said.

In a response, the magistrate, Mr Stephen Owusu, said the report ought to have been released by the hospital.

“I do not understand why the hospital does not want to release the report. It should not take a court order for a medical report to be released, but if by the next adjourned date the accused persons are not furnished with the report, I will issue an order for the medical facility to do so,” he said.

The case was adjourned to February 24, 2016

Accused persons

Constable  Atsutsey, Constable Agbemordzi, Frank Obeng and Richard Acquah have been remanded in police custody by the court on suspicion of playing a role in the death of 23-year-old Veracity Janice Oteng.

A fifth accused person, Isaac Donkor, has, however, been granted bail.

Background

Veracity Janice Oteng was found dead in a swimming pool in the house of her employer at Dansoman on August 16, 2015.

The owner of the house, a renowned businessman and his family had travelled to the USA on a holiday at the time of the incident.

Constables Atsutsey and Agbemordzi were the armed policemen running day and night shifts in the house when the incident occurred, while Obeng and Acquah were private securitymen who also ran day and night shifts there. Donkor was the houseboy.