Prosecutors pushing for 10-year jail for Kumasi child abusers

A charge that may yield a two-year prison sentence is not punitive enough for a couple standing trial for allegedly abusing a two-year-old boy, police say.

Prosecutor Supt. Emmanuel Akunnor says the case has been moved from the Magistrate's Court in the Ashanti region where the maximum sentence would have been two years.

He is sending the gripping story of torture of the boy to the Circuit court where prosecutors will be pushing for a prison sentence of at least 10 years for the couple -Nana Oti and Rita Oti - if they are found guilty.

Supt. Akunnor told Joy FM Super Morning Show Wednesday the couple has been charged with an offence which is a 1st-degree felony after severe abusive treatment of the child that left him without fingers on his left hand.

Doctors say the fingers had to be removed to save the boy's hand. The suspects allegedly burnt the victim’s fingers with a hot iron during the many months of abuse.

“The child has skin marks all over his body, but that perhaps is the least of his worries. His right hand, from the wrist to the fingers, is covered with a sore apparently from a burn that looks deteriorating”, Luv FM's Erastus Asare Donkor reported.

He said the boy was hospitalised at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital around September 29, 2015 where he underwent surgery.

The suspects were acting as guardians for the little boy while his father is away in Nigeria.

They were arraigned in a Magistrate's court on Tuesday October 10, 2015 but the trial took a dramatic turn when the couple were discharged after police withdrew all charges.

But it appeared to be a strategic move as the police re-arrested them immediately after they were discharged.

The police prosecutor told Asare Donkor the nature of the case and the degree of harm caused to the two-year-old meant the Magistrate's court is not the right forum for the case. The case is been taken to a higher court

Supt Emmanuel Akunnor says the Social Welfare Department in Kumasi is taking custody and protecting the boy.

The prospects of two years in prison is not punitive enough for a couple standing trial for allegedly abusing a two-year-old boy, police say.

Prosecutor Supt. Emmanuel Akunnor says the case has been moved from the Magistrate Court in the Ashanti region where the maximum sentence would have been two years.

He is sending the gripping story of torture of Samuel Kwarteng to the Circuit court where prosecutors will be pushing for imprisonment of up to 10 years for the couple Nana Oti and Rita Oti if found guilty.

Supt. Akunnor told Joy FM Super Morning Show Wednesday the couple have been charged with 1^st degree felony after severe abusive treatment of the child that left him without two fingers.

According to doctors, some of Samuel Kwarteng’s right fingers are motionless. The suspects allegedly burnt Samuel’s fingers with a hot iron during the many months of abuse.

He said Samuel Kwarteng was hospitalised at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital around September 29, 2015. Surgery days later has left him without a single finger on the right hand.

The care givers were acting as guardians for the little boy while his father resides in Nigeria.

The suspects were arraigned in a Magistrate court on Tuesday October 10,2015. But the trial took a dramatic turn when the couple were discharged after police withdrew all charges.

But it appeared to be a strategic move as the police re-arrested them immediately after they were discharged.

The police prosecutor told Asare Donkor the nature of the case and the degree of harm caused to the two-year-old meant the Magistrate court is not best suited for the trial. The case is been taken to a higher court

Supt Emmanuel Akunnor says the Social Welfare Department in Kumasi are providing custody and protection for Samuel Kwarteng.

Story by Ghana|Myjoyonline|Edwin Appiah|[email protected]