The victims
Three siblings have been reported dead after spending a night in their grandmother’s house at Asawase in Kumasi, in the Ashanti Region.
The three, including their grandmother, reportedly inhaled chemicals from an insecticide intended to rid their room of bedbugs, while they slept.
Police report disclosed that the deceased lived with their mother at Parkoso, a community in the Asokore Mampong Municipality. The report indicated that on December 28, 2023, they took advantage of the festive season to visit their grandmother at Asawase.
An uncle of the children, identified as Anthony Frans, reportedly used an insecticide to spray a room in which the siblings were supposed to spend the night, to kill bedbugs and other insects.
Unfortunately, the three children and their 66-year-old grandmother, named as Ekua Gyaabena, inhaled the poisonous chemicals throughout the night, thereby making them very weak and unresponsive the next morning.
The four victims were then rushed to the Manhyia Government Hospital for medical attention, but unfortunately Magdalene and Christian died upon arrival at the hospital.
However, Ekua Gyaabena, their grandmother, and Judith, were still alive so they were hospitalised at the KATH Emergency Centre. But calamity struck again as Judith also died later on, increasing the number of deaths to three.
The grandmother is still receiving treatment at the hospital, whilst their uncle, Anthony Frans, who sprayed the room with the dangerous insecticide, has since been arrested, and arraigned on a provisional charge of murder.
Burial
Scores of mourners from all walks of life in Kumasi, besieged the Asawase Railway Quarters to bid farewell to the deceased, two girls and one boy, at the funeral grounds on Saturday, January 13, 2024.
The tears continued to flow as the siblings, whose bodies were placed in different caskets, were eventually lowered into their graves for their eternal rest.
Suspect Granted Bail
Meanwhile, Anthony Frans, uncle of the deceased siblings, who has been charged with murder, reportedly, appeared at the Asokore Mampong District Court for the second time on January 9, 2024, where he was granted bail of GH¢20,000 with two sureties.
FROM I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi