The police are investigating a case of assault brought against an expatriate who is the CEO of mining contracting firm BCM Ghana Limited.
Paul List allegedly manhandled a Ghanaian employee, Jonathan Adongo, who is the Administration Manager and Company Secretary of BCM, and has worked for the company for about 30 years.
Mr. List, believed to be an Australian and married to a Ghanaian woman, is alleged to have physically assaulted Mr. Adongo, 62, leaving him with ear, shoulder and hip injuries at about 1pm on Sunday, June 13.
Mr. Adongo is claiming that Mr. List had demanded access to some company files to enable him to take over the company established with other shareholders of BCM, and as the Administration Manager and Company Secretary he (Adongo) had declined to hand over his personal phones and laptop.
He claimed Mr. List allegedly attempted to unlawfully confiscate the items and when he (List) was not getting his way, he assaulted him (Adongo) at the main office of BCM located at Labone, Accra.
Mr. Adongo subsequently reported the matter to the Cantonments Police Station on the same day, and he was issued with a medical form to seek treatment.
Insensitive to the plight of a devout employee and lacking remorse for his actions on the said day, after manhandling him, Mr. List reportedly signed a dismissal letter on June 23, 2021 to terminate the employment of Mr. Adongo, claiming Mr. Adongo refused to honour an invitation to a ‘disciplinary hearing’ for ‘alleged insubordination.’
An officer at the Cantonments Police Station, Inspector Maxwell Danquah, confirmed that Mr. Adongo had filed a complaint against Mr. List but said the case was subsequently transferred to the Accra Regional Police Command.
Mr. List is said to have also filed ‘counter-assault’ charge at the Accra Regional Command some days after the said incident and had reportedly refused to appear at the Cantonment Police Station to answer charges brought by Mr. Adongo.
The 62-year-old Adongo told DAILY GUIDE yesterday that “I feel traumatised. The last time I visited the hospital, my blood pressure had shot up and I was put on medication. I feel pains in my hip. I can’t raise my arm beyond a certain level. There was no cut, but I feel pains in my ear as well and find it difficult to sleep at night.”
He said he could not honour the company’s invitation because the case had already been reported to the police and he did not want to interfere with the investigations of the police.
He also said he did not feel safe going back to the premises where he was assaulted because the security had been told not to allow him into the building.