Amoateng Witness Ends Evidence

Eric Amoateng
ASP Kwaku Lodonu, the investigator in the trial of the former Member of Parliament (MP) for Nkoranza North, Eric Amoateng, who allegedly acquired a Ghanaian passport fraudulently, has ended his evidence.

He told the Accra Circuit Court presided over by Mrs Ellen Vivian Amoah during crossexamination that it was based on the report of the owner of the passport, Barbara Inkum, that the accused person was charged.

He was cross-examined by Charles Puozuing, counsel for Amoateng.

The investigator also stated that his investigations revealed that the suspect forged the passport for which he was charged, but defence counsel put it to the police officer that he had told the court that the accused person was surprised when he informed him that the passport was forged.

The witness responded that he had not concluded his investigations by then and admitted that he had not amended his charge sheet on that.

Puozuing suggested to the policeman that he had told the court that the passport was issued while the suspect was in custody, to which he (policeman) answered in the affirmative.

Counsel also put it to the investigator that looking at the passport, one would not know that it was forged, to which he answered in the affirmative. The case has been adjourned to today.

The investigator had in his evidence-in-chief said that Amoateng said he acquired the said passport while serving jail time in the US.

ASP Kwaku Lodonu stated that even though the former MP had told him that he downloaded a form on the internet during his incarceration for heroin related offences, investigations revealed that passport forms were not available on the net.

The prosecutor in the case also admitted that 'nobody knows how the passport came to be in the possession of the accused person.'

The police officer said in the course of his investigations, it was revealed that the said passport belonged to one Barbara Inkum.

According to him, Amoateng told him that a certain Ghanaian prison inmate called Mohammed helped him to acquire the said passport and said he and Mohammed were released together and that he did not know which way Mohammed went.

Barbara Inkum, owner of the passport said to have been used by the accused person to travel to Ghana from the United States, has also testified as well as Issaka Lan-Gani, Assistant Commissioner of Immigration at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA).

BY Fidelia Achama