Girl, 14, poisons father

A 14-year-old pupil of the Agyeikrom Junior High School near Begoro has been arrested by the police for allegedly poisoning her 57-year-old father.

Ruth Yaa Akumah, a student, is said to have laced food with a poisonous substance provided by her boyfriend with whom she served her father leading to his death.

Police said Akumah and her boyfriend, Francis Tawiah, who is on the run, took the action because her father opposed their relationship.

The body of the deceased, Stephen Osiaw; a farmer, has been deposited at the Koforidua Central Hospital for autopsy.

The Eastern Regional Police Commander, ACP Kwabena Gyamerah Yeboah, told the Ghanaian Times that when Osiaw got to know about the amorous relationship between his daughter and Tawiah, he warned Tawiah not to come to his house again.

Mr. Gyamerah Yeboah said this seemed not to have gone down well with the couple and on June 16, this year, Tawiah gave Akumah some substance to be put into her father’s food.

After eating the meal prepared by Akumah, Osiaw started complaining of abdominal pains and he was taken to a local hospital from where he was referred to the Central Hospital at Koforidua where he died on June 20.

Doctors’ report confirmed that Osiaw died from food poisoning, and according to Mr. Gyamerah Yeboah, Akumah confessed that she was given a poisonous substance by Tawiah who asked her to put it into her father’s food.

He said the hospital authorities reported the death of Mr. Osiaw to the police on July 14, following an attempt by the deceased’s family to collect the body.

The Begoro police have mounted a hunt for Tawiah.