A 41 year-old quack doctor, David Darko, who has been operating an illegal abortion clinic at Suhum – 44 in the Eastern Region, has been jailed.
He was sentenced to four years imprisonment with hard labour on Monday, January 11, 2021.
The Suhum Circuit court, presided over by Diana Adu Asare, jailed Darko after he was found guilty of two counts of practicing medicine without authority and receiving money for the practice of medicine without authority.
The convict, known to be a ‘specialist’ was conducting unsafe abortions, which he is alleged to have practiced without the requisite professional qualification and certification for the past 10 years.
In 2017, the convict was declared wanted by the Suhum Police after several attempts to cause his arrest proved futile. David and his accomplices at the time escaped arrest when personnel of the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) stormed his facility to close it down.
He came back after a year to continue the illegal abortion activities on the blind side of the Police.
His arrest was made when some of the victims who suffered complications after the abortions reported the matter to the Police.
His facility is made up of two small rooms built with mud. Inside the rooms are small size beds, some cooking utensils, rags, and other materials. Also found in the room were abortion equipment and tools used by him.
The Suhum Police Commander, Chief Supt. Joseph Owusu confirmed to DGN Online that the Municipal Health Directorate informed the police about Darko’s operations, leading to his arrest.
The quack doctor was a health extension officer with the Youth Employment Agency (YEA) posted to the Tetteh Quarshie Memorial Hospital at Mampong-Akuapem somewhere in 2016, but after exiting the agency, he was employed by Rev Bidi Memorial Hospital, popularly known as Setsoafia Clinic, as a ward assistant.
He was dismissed by the hospital almost a year ago for misconduct.
The Medical Director of Rev Bidi Memorial Hospital, Dr. Dik Setsoafia, revealed that he had been informed on countless occasions about the illegal operations of the quack doctor from grapevine sources.
The illegal abortion clinic which is operated by David Darko is located a few meters away from the private hospital where he used to work.
David who was dismissed by the Rev Bidi Memorial Hospital during an interview with Starr FM, an Accra-based radio station, in 2017 said, “I am pleading with you not to report this case to the police because of my involvement, even though I have a license to operate…I don’t have money to construct my facility. So I know I am operating illegally, so let the girl go to the hospital for a scan to be done so that we will all be sure that she is okay but I trust she is fine.”
The convict said “When this case goes to court, I know I will be jailed not less than 25 years, but it is the victim who will be stigmatized in the town. I have a license, but there are rules and regulations attached but I know I have breached the rules.”
The Court has since instructed the Health Authority and the Police to burn the medicines and the other items found on him.
FROM Daniel Bampoe, Suhum