The Golden Tulip GM at the court yesterday.
The General Manager of Golden Tulip Hotel in Accra has been hauled before an Accra Circuit Court for failing to register the company with the Data Protection Commission.
The accused, whose name the prosecution did not provide on its charge sheet, is said to be the data controller of the hotel.
According to the Prosecutor, ASP Stephen K. Adjei, the accused, per the offence, had breached Sections 27 (1) and 56 of the Data Protection Act, Act 843 of 2012.
Per Section 27(1) of the Act, all institutions and individuals that collect, hold, use and process data and information must register with the Commission.
But the accused in a court, presided over by Aboagye Tandoh, said he was not personally guilty of the offence but the company.
Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah, lawyer for the Golden Tulip GM, said his client was in the process of registering when the action was served on him.
He said per Section 56 of the Company Act, a person who fails to register shall be liable to a fine.
Baffour Awuah argued that the court ought to be lenient with the accused since he took steps to register prior to the action in the court.
Mr. Tandoh said the company would be convicted on his own guilty plea but sentencing would be deferred for the court to be furnished with steps the accused have taken with regards to registering the company.
The court also gave the accused one week to completely comply with the directive to register and consequently admitted the accused to bail in the sum of GH¢4,000, with one surety.
Prosecuting, ASP. Adjei said the complainant in the case is the Executive Director of the Data Protection Commission in Accra while the accused is the General Manager of Golden Tulip Hotel.
He stated that during the month of October, a report was made to the police that some institutions and organizations identified as data controllers had failed to register with the Commission per the law.
The court further heard that defaulting institutions were invited and asked to reregister with the Commission.
ASP Adjei contended that some institutions and companies neither reported to the police nor registered with the Commission, adding that “investigations were carried out and accused person, being the head of Golden Tulip Hotel, a data processing institution, was identified as one of the defaulters.”
By Jeffrey De-Graft Johnson
jeffdegraft44@yahoo.com