Court Remands Suspects For Allegedly Poisoning Toddler

The Offinso North District Court at Akumadan in the Ashanti Region has remanded into police custody a 40-year old woman who allegedly poisoned her child to death.

Police arrested yaa Boatemaa at Akumadan in the Offinso North District of the Ashanti Region after she gave a drink suspected to have been mixed with an Agrochemical “Furadan” to her three-year-old daughter Abena Theresa.

The child, who was unconscious after consuming the drink died shortly on arrival at the hospital.

The Court presided over by Her Worship Florence A. Baah remanded the accused person to re-appear on 18th July 2018.

This was after the prosecution prayed the court not to take the plea of the accused person.

According to the police prosecutor, Detective Inspector Godwin Akpalu, police needed more time to carry out an autopsy on the deceased to ascertain the real cause of death.

He added that police also needed time to send samples of the Agrochemical, “Furadan” to the Ghana Standards Authority for examination.

The judge after carefully listening to the accused person and examining her appearance inquired about her mental health from other relatives who were in court.

One of the accused person’s sister, Felicia Ampomaa told the court that her sister (the accused person) is mentally unstable.

Madam Ampomaa also told the court that the accused person refused to name the father of her children after each pregnancy.

The accused person, however, told the court the father of her deceased child had passed on.

The judge, Her Worship Baah who touched by the accused person’s story further inquired if she was given any medical attention.

The relatives told the court that the medical attention for the accused stopped when one of their brother’s who was taking care of her passed on.

They, however, said they had to resort to prayer camps since they couldn’t buy the needed medication for the accused.

The judge then ordered the prosecution to collaborate with the accused’s relatives and take her to a mental health facility for examination before the adjourned date.

The judge also expressed worry about how some men could be callous by impregnating women with mental illness at the expense of those with very stable minds.

She also faulted the relatives for failing to seek the right medical solution to the accused person’s situation rather than resorting to prayer camps for deliverance.

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