Eight in court for indiscriminate dumping of refuse

Eight persons were on Thursday, arraigned before the Tema Development Corporation (TDC) Magistrate Court on charges of indiscriminate dumping of refuse, overgrown weeds, and the accumulation of offensive waste water.

The eight are Henry Kwame, Michael Antwi, Bismark Kwame, Anokye Kwamla, S.K. Manu, Elia Donkor and Richard Kwame.

They pleaded not guilty to the charges and the court presided over by Mr Johanna Yankson granted each of them bail in the sum of 5,000 Ghana cedis, with a surety each to be justified.

Bench warrants have been issued for the arrest of four others who failed to show up in court.

Prosecuting, Mr. Emmanuel Eric Kotoku, Environmental Health Officer at the Tema Metropolitan Assembly, told the court that on December 9, 2011, the accused persons who sell furniture at Site Three in Community One, were arrested by Environmental Health Officers on duty for dumping refuse over their fence wall; accumulation of offensive waste water that bred mosquito larvae and the overgrowth of weeds on their premises.

Mr. Kotoku said sometime in August last year, the accused persons were served with notices to tidy up the place but they failed to do so.

He said the Environmental Health Officers consequently took action against the accused persons, charged them with the three offences, and put them before court.

The trial judge expressed grave concern about the insanitary behaviour of some members of the public, and warned that in future she would deal ruthlessly with anybody brought before her for sanitary offences.