A POLICE officer who facilitated the escape of a convicted British national has been sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment by an Accra Circuit Court.
Detective Lance Corporal Kwame Adu Asabereh, was charged and dragged before court after he freed the convict the who was sentenced to three (3) years’ imprisonment and was to b14e sent to the Nsawam medium security prison.
He, however, sent the convict to his (convict’s) house at Sapeiman in Accra after the convict promised to facilitate his travel abroad.
Court documents indicate that the disgraced police officer released the convict’s British passport which was in his custody to the convict to travel to the United Kingdom.
He later forged a Police Removal of Prisoner book to suggest that the convict had been sent and received by authorities of Nsawam Prisons.
He was charged with three counts of forgery of official document contrary to Section 158 of the criminal and other offences Act, abetment of prisoner escape contrary to Section 20(1) of the same Act and corruption by a public officer.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges but the court, presided over by Her Honour Patricia Amponsah, found him guilty at the end of the trial and sentenced him to 12 years imprisonment.
The facts, presented by the prosecution led by Assistant Superintendent of Police Emmanuel Nyamekye, at the beginning of the trial, stated that in 2019, a case of defrauding by false pretences involving one Harold Davies Johnson @ Emmanuel Snowden, a British National, reported was referred the convict police officer for investigation.
It said after investigation, the police officer was instructed to charge and arraign Harold Davies Johnson for the offence of Defrauding by false pretences which he did.
“Harold Davies Johnson pleaded guilty Simplicita to the charge and was convicted on his own plea of guilty to (3) three years’ imprisonment. Convict Harold Davies Johnson was handed over to the accused person (Asabereh) who was then the case officer to be sent to Nsawam Prison. Surprisingly, the accused person failed to send the convict to the prison, rather he elected to send the convict to his house at Sapeiman and leave with him for some time,” the facts said.
The facts state that “upon the promise by the convict to assist accused person (Asabereh) to travel abroad and in consideration, the accused person released the convict’s British Passport which was in his custody to the convict to travel to the United Kingdom.”
He subsequently forged the Police Removal of Prisoner book to suggest that the convict has been sent and received by the Nsawam prison authorities. He is said to have admitted the offense upon his arrest.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak