Business woman granted bail for fraud

A 40 year-old business woman, Fati Abdulai, has been granted bail in the sum of 14,000 Ghana cedis with two sureties to be justified by the Tarkwa Circuit Court for defrauding by false pretenses.

She pleaded not guilty to the charge, and will make her next appearance in court on May 28.

Prosecuting, Police Chief Inspector Oscar Amponsah, told the court presided over by Mr.Justice Obeng Asante that the complainant, Moses Appiah, is a small-scale miner living at Kutukrom near Prestea, while the accused person resides at Sefwi Juaboso.

Chief Inspector Amponsah said, in August last year, the accused person rented out to the complainant an excavator machine belonging to her elder brother, Eric Wiafe, resident in Australia, at a cost of 1,500 Ghana cedis per day, for his mining activities at Kutukrom.

C/Insp Amponsah said Fati has been going to the complainant's mining site from time to time to collect the rent on the excavator, and in November 2014, she collected an accumulated rent of 13,000 Ghana cedis from the complainant and informed the complainant that his elder brother has shipped another excavator to Ghana, so he should give her additional 12,000 Ghana cedis to enable her clear the machine from the port and promised to give it out to him to rent.

Chief Inspector Amponsah said the complainant gave the money to the accused but she failed to honor her promise.

He said in December, the accused's elder brother came to Ghana and collected a accumulated rent of 12,000 Ghana cedis and additional 3,000 Ghana cedis as two days advance rent and took the machine the complainant had rented to Kumasi with the excuse that he was going to repair it.

Chief Inspector Amponsah said the accused brother assured the complainant that he will return the machine to him after the necessary work has been completed but he failed to do so and left for Australia.

He said the complainant has since made several unsuccessful efforts to retrieve the 12,000 from the accused.

Chief Inspector Amponsah said the complainant made a report to the police and the accused was arrested at Juaboso.

He said Fati, in her cautioned statement, admitted that she collected an amount of 25,000 Ghana cedis in November 2014, but claimed it was an accumulated rent of the machine which was in the complainant's possession.