Chinese inmate didn’t escape while in our custody - KBTH denies report

The Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) has denied the allegation that a Chinese inmate of the Nsawam Prison escaped from the hospital while receiving treatment for a toothache.

This comes after the prison service confirmed that the Chinese national serving a one-year jail term for theft reportedly escaped while receiving medical care at the facility.

The Public Relations Officer of the hospital, Mustapha Salifu, said that the report, as given, was not accurate, and that the inmate left the hospital in the company of the prison guards who brought him.

He said “The report in the media is not very accurate.”

Narrating what transpired to Laud Harris Adu-Asare of TV3, Salifu stated that the inmate, Wang Xiao, aged 39, was referred to KBTH on Monday, February 7, 2024, for a dental check-up.

After his examination, he was asked to come back on a scheduled date since the officers didn’t have enough money with them to foot the bill for his treatment.

“He [Wang Xiao] came to the KBTH in the company of two prison guards on the account of a toothache. Once he got to the hospital, we observed that he was in handcuffs. But they moved out and reported back at about 8 am for the registration formalities.

“After the registration, he was asked to pay an amount of GH¢167 because he was a non-Ghanaian. He then proceeded to the consulting room where he was attended to and assessed. After the assessment, it happened that he had to go for an X-ray examination. While going for the X-ray, he was still in handcuffs,” he stated.

Explaining further, the PRO noted that because of the extra cost involved in treating Wang Xiao, they opted to reschedule the appointment to a later date.

He stated that since they left, they haven't been to the hospital again.

“He, together with the officers who came with him, were briefed on what is going to be done for his pain to go away which was going to cost about GH¢606.00. So, when this was announced to them, the officer said he wasn’t having enough money on him so, we should reschedule and come back to the clinic on Friday, February 9, 2024. Since then, we have not seen him.

“But he left the clinic in the company of the prison guards. So, as far as we are concerned, the inmate left with the guards that came with him and he did not escape while in our custody,” he stated.

Mustapha Salifu also added that, the condition with which the Chinese national, Wang Xiao, was brought to the hospital, didn’t warrant that he got admitted at the hospital.

“Let me mention that, the patient was not on admission. It was just a visit to the clinic and his condition did not require that he was admitted to the ward,” he added.

Ghana’s leading digital news platform, GhanaWeb, in conjunction with the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, is embarking on an aggressive campaign which is geared towards ensuring that parliament passes comprehensive legislation to guide organ harvesting, organ donation, and organ transplantation in the country.

WN/ ADG

Click here to follow the GhanaWeb General News WhatsApp channel