Court orders school proprietor

Tarkwa (W/R), May 12,- GNA- Mr. John Ajet Nasam, a school proprietor at Wassa Simpa, Mr Robert Eddie Antobam, was arraigned for duping a farmer of the sum of twenty-one million, seven hundred and fifty thousand cedis on the pretext of assisting him secure travel documents. Presenting the facts of the case, Inspector Edward Paddy of Tarkwa Police said somewhere in July 2003, a farmer of Teberebie, Mr John Dickson Angoh, approached Antobam to assist him secure the necessary documents to travel to Europe.

Antobam promised to help and took him (Angoh) to an agent at Axim, who would facilitate the whole process. The Agent charged 60 million cedis but Angoh said he would pay 40 million cedis as initial payment and make up the rest when his papers go through.

Angoh thus gave the money to Antobam who instead of giving the full amount to the agent paid him eighteen million seven hundred and fifty cedis and kept the remainder.

When the agent approached him (Antobam) for the remainder to round up the process, Antobam could not come up with the money and several attempts to retrieve it also failed. To make matters worse he went into hiding until he was spotted at his hometown, Wassa Simpa on April 10, 2007.

A report was made to the police and he was subsequently arrested. Antobam admitted the offence and paid ten million cedis out of the twenty-one million seven hundred and fifty thousand cedis with the plea that he would pay the rest later. Meanwhile the court has given him up to June 4, 2007 to pay the remainder or face the full rigours of the law.