Slashed Testis In Court

EIGHT MONTHS after the testis of a young graduate was allegedly slashed by two assailants, the case is finally billed for a legal showdown at a Koforidua High Court.

This follows a legal suit filed by the victim, Mr. David Ekow Bray, 24-year old graduate of the Ghana Maritime Academy, after the local police at Odumase-Krobo and Akropong had failed to press for criminal charges against the suspects.

The assailants have been identified as Jonathan Aryeetey, a.k.a. Sparrow and Ebenezer Tetteh, a.k.a. Ogidigidi, both residents of Atua in the Manya Krobo district of the Eastern Region.

The victim, in his suit, said Aryeetey and Tetteh, both in their forties, without any provocation, attacked him at about 10pm of June 12, 2007, pinned him to the floor and assaulted his manhood with a sharp object, tearing wide open his scrotal sack.

According to him, he managed to escape death by a hair's breath after he engaged his assailants in a 'fight for his life'.

He was suing for general damages, stressing that the unprovoked attack had affected his erection and consequently his sexual performance.

In a statement of defence, solicitors for the defendants vehemently denied any attack on the complainant, saying his claims were frivolous.

The June 12, 2007 incident, which attracted a lot of media attention, eventually prompted the intervention of the Ministry of the Interior.

A medical report signed by Dr. Daniel Kyei-Baffuor of the Atua Government Hospital indicated that Mr. Bray, who was stretchered there in a critical state, bled profusely and had suffered from a deep laceration in his left scrotum, with exposed testis, contusion of chest, neck and waist, and an abrasion of right elbow.

Several stitches had to be made to prevent his testicles from gushing out.

DAILY GUIDE has reliably gathered that the Police Intelligence and Professional Standards (PIPS) unit has frowned at the manner in which the Odumase-Krobo and Akropong police handled the matter, and consequently recommended the transfer of a number of personnel.

Following PIPS' recommendations, Chief Inspector Douglas Badzi has been transferred to Lawra in the Upper West Region, while Joseph Kankam and one Julius (both investigators) are to move to Kasoa and Somanya respectively.

Similarly, Crime Officer Konyel and Inspector Balla, both of Akropong, are on their way out of the division for certain roles they played in the matter. As at the time of filing the story, Badzi, the station officer for Odumase-Krobo, was yet to move to his Lawra base.

One interesting development was that even after the Police Headquarters had ordered that criminal charges be pressed, the docket on the case vanished into thin air. The Interior Ministry and Office of the IGP are however taking the matter seriously.

Residents of Atua and its environs are also yet to come to terms with the reasons behind the gruesome night attack. By Bennett Akuaku