Old ex-soldier jailed for attempted abortion.

Juaso (Ash), May 05, GNA - A 74-year-old ex-army Lance Corporal at Obogu, near Juaso in the Ashanti region who used a particular leaf stalk to cause abortion has been jailed for four years by the Juaso circuit court.

Mathew Kwame Biney pleaded not guilty on a charge of attempted abortion.

Prosecuting, Police Chief Inspector Francis Kwasi Ofori told the court presided over by Mr Jacob Boon that on April 6, 2004, at about 4:20 pm, the Medical Director of Juaso District Hospital reported to the police that an 18- year-old student who was seriously bleeding had been rushed to the hospital.

The girl, who had been on admission, mentioned Biney as the one who used some herbs to abort her pregnancy.

Chief Inspector Ofori said police proceeded to Obogu and arrested Biney, adding when his room was searched, a quantity of injection syringes, empty bottles of procaine penicillin and injection needles, which indicated that the accused was practising medicine without authority, were found.

He said investigations further revealed that the victim (Miss Angela Berko) a first year student of (Kokofu Senior Secondary School) was two months pregnant, while Biney, an ex-Lance Corporal of the Ghana Army was discharged in 1965, as a nurse of the 37 Military Hospital.

On April 4, 2004, the victim came to the house of the accused to abort the two months old pregnancy, and she was asked to pay 40,000 cedis. Chief Inspector Ofori said the quack doctor inserted a stick of an herb into her womb, and gave her one jab of injection, then on April 5, the victim started bleeding, and as a result she had abdominal pains and was rushed to the Juaso District Hospital.

A medical report from the hospital said, "she was bleeding and a product of pregnancy was noticed in her pad. The entrance of the womb had been tempered with and was slightly dilated. The blood and product was offensive, therefore, diagnostic of criminal abortion was made and emergency evacuation of uterus (womb) was made"