Chinese convict case an isolated incident – Prisons Service

Ghana Prisons Service has stated that the actions of two officers who assisted Wang Xiao, a Chinese convict at Nsawam Medium Prison, in escaping do not reflect the service’s standards.

The service maintains that its officers receive thorough training and adhere to a professional code of conduct.

Two prison officers, Joseph Oteng and Sergeant Isaac Boateng Bonsu, have been charged with conspiracy and aiding escape. They appeared in an Accra Circuit Court on these charges. The officers allegedly informed their superiors that after a hospital visit, a Toyota Vitz car approached them and drove away with the convict.

However, CCTV footage from a hotel contradicted their account. The footage showed the officers escorting the Chinese convict to a hotel room to meet his wife. The convict and his wife reportedly escaped over the room's balcony while the officers waited in the hotel reception area.

The officers have pleaded not guilty. The court, presided over by Mrs. Afia Owusua Appiah, granted them bail in the sum of GH¢100,000 each, with two sureties to be justified.

They are scheduled to reappear on April 9, 2024. The prosecution, led by Chief Inspector Wisdom Alorwu, stated that the complainant was the third in command at the Nsawam Medium Security Prisons, and the accused were serving under his supervision.

In an Eyewitness News interview with Selorm Adonoo on Citi FM on Tuesday, the Chief Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Prisons Service, Superintendent Abdul Latif Adamu, described the incident as unfortunate.

He emphasized that the service does not condone such behaviour and that officers are well-trained and guided by a professional code of conduct.

He added that the service will continue to educate and sensitize officers on the need for professionalism in their line of duty.

“Our organization, as I mentioned, has standards. We have our training protocols and our behavioural codes. It is rather unfortunate that this happened, and I can assure you that it is because of issues like this that we have sanctions for workers who may act contrary to the codes of conduct of any organization. So for now, I wouldn’t want to comment on that because the case is still in court, and we want to see what the outcome of the case will be before we can actually comment on it.”

“Like the military will always tell you, in any given situation, there are some levels of casualties allowed. So I don’t think the behaviour exhibited by these two officers is a true representation of the behaviours of prison officers in general because these are only two out of thousands of prison officers who are behaving and going about their daily duties professionally. So yes, we don’t condone that. We frown on that. But we can assure you that our officers are professional, and we will also continue to educate them so they can be more professional in their line of duty,” he stated.

—citinewsroom