Lawyer Commits Suicide

...Shoots Himself Through His Private Parts A 36-year old lawyer who could not face the humiliation associated with his alleged involvement in an insurance fraud running into millions of cedis shot and killed himself at the weekend. Kwadwo Asamoah Bosompem, the head of the legal department of a reputable brokerage firm in the country, who was driving a black VW Passat Saloon car belonging to his employers, allegedly parked the car and shot himself through his private parts with a pump action gun loaded with six rounds of ammunition.

The bullet that killed him instantly got out his body through the left ear. He was reportedly helping the Airport police in a case in which he was alleged to have forged the signature of the officer in charge of the Airport Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) of the Ghana Police and that of the relevant Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) officer to support his claim to an insurance company that his car was burnt. He was being accompanied by his brother back home, but they were driving their individual cars and the brother took the lead when they got to the motorway. After waiting for a while and realizing hat Bosompem was not close to him, he drove back to check what the problem was, only to find Bosompem lying dead in his car with a pump action gun beside him. Narrating the story to the Graphic in Accra at the weekend, the divisional police commander of the Nima Police Division, Chief Superintendent Kwadwo Oware, said Bosompem was arrested on Wednesday when it was detected that he had forged the signatures of officers of the two security agencies following an inquiry made by officials of Enterprise Insurance Company, Bosompem's insurers. He said Bosompem bought on credit a home used BMW 5 series and an Audi from a friend at a cost of about ¢246million. Mr. Oware said a few days later, he went for a comprehensive insurance cover on the BMW which he valued at ¢280million. He said in less than two weeks after he had completed the formalities for the insurance, he set the car ablaze at a spot near the Ghana Airways headquarters in the airport residential area but refused to report the incident to the police. Mr. Oware said the car might have been set ablaze to enable him to claim some monies from the insurance company to enable him to pay off the car owner and have some left for himself. He said Bosompem then had to forge the two documents from the Airport Police MTTU and the GNFS in a move to outwit his insurers. Mr. Oware said unknown to him, the EIC had contacted the police to verify the authenticity of the document and to conduct further investigations, and it was during that moment that it was detected the documents had been forged and besides, there had not been any report of any burnt car. He said it was in the spur of that moment that Bosompem was detained and later granted bail on Thursday and was to report to the police on Friday. Mr. Oware also revealed that Bosompem had made a report to the same police a couple of months earlier that his VW Passat had been taken away by some armed robbers when he parked the car to attend to the call of nature. He said after he had written his statement, the officer in-charge asked him to accompany the police to the site to see if they could trace anything, adding that just after the police made the suggestion, he changed his earlier statement and said "I was only urinating." Mr. Oware said the deceased had also taken a loan of ¢200million from his friend and used the Audi as collateral, a car he had registered in the name of a non existent judge. The owner of the two cars Bosompem bought on credit said he gave the car to him because of the cordial relationship the two enjoyed. He said he was due to leave his base in Europe from where he brings used cars to sell in the country, but had to postpone the trip because of Bosompem whom he was waiting on to make some payment.

The car owner said the news of death had come as the biggest shock in his life because "Bosompem looked unassuming." His other colleagues, who had heard of the news came to the police and could not help weeping. He is survived by a child but he is not married.