Student remanded for defrauding two people of 105 million cedis

Kumasi, June 9, GNA - A 28-year old Marketing student who defrauded two people to the tune of 105 million cedis under the pretext of securing them passports and visas to travel outside was on Wednesday remanded in prison custody by a Kumasi Circuit Court. Charles Badu pleaded guilty and would re-appear on June 17, for his sentence.

Police Chief Inspector John K. Afful, told the court, presided over by Mr Ernest Yao Obimpeh, that the accused, a student of one of the Marketing Institutes in Accra and a friend to the complainants, informed them that he knew of a white man who could assist to get them passports and visas. The two, Mr Owusu Ansah, a Revenue Collector of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), and Madam Yaa Ataa, a housewife, showed interest and paid 6,000 dollars and 3,500 pounds sterling respectively which amounted to 125 million cedis to Badu to be given to the white man towards the processing of the travel documents.

The Prosecutor said after two weeks, the accused brought photocopies of what he said was their passports and visas and arranged with them to travel down to Accra to meet the man himself at the Kotoka International Airport to pick the originals. He said, the two, together with the accused, met at the Airport as agreed upon and waited there till about 9 p.m. but the said white man never showed up. They therefore went home and returned the next day and the story was not different so Mr Ansah and Madam Ataa gave up and returned to Kumasi where they made a formal report to the police. Badu admitted collecting the monies after his arrest and promised to raise money from his parents' cocoa farm and oil palm plantation to pay back the money and that he had already refunded 20 million cedis to them.