Judge scolds chief for pleading to withdraw defilement case

Mr Abature Ali Baba, presiding over an Aflao Circuit Court, sternly reprimanded a chief of Afife in the Ketu-North District, for appearing before the court to plead for the withdrawal of a defilement and illegal abortion case for settlement at home.

Togbe Azaglo the second, wanted the court to free Promise Amegbor, a 32-year old driver, accused of defiling a 14-year old school pupil, which resulted in a pregnancy he caused to be aborted.

The judge told the chief that granting his request would amount to encouraging young men to defile and rape ladies at will, and so he sentenced Amegbor, nephew of Togbe Azaglo, to 12 years imprisonment.

He said the sentence was to deter other irresponsible men, and warned that in future, the court would not deal kindly with people found meddling in defilement cases.

Police Inspector Seth Appau, of the Aflao station, told the court that the accused person lived at Afife, while the victim stayed with her parents at neighbouring Avalavi.

Inspector Appau said, sometime in April this year, the accused person lured and had sexual intercourse with the victim, and impregnated her.

He said in the evening of October 23, Amegbor lured the victim to a funeral ground at Afife, and served her with a bottle of drink, suspected to be laced with some drugs.

Inspector Appau said after taking the drink, the victim complained of abdominal pains and the accused person gave her ‘Akpeteshie’, the local gin to lessen the pains.

He said after midnight the following day, victim began to bleed profusely, leading to the abortion in the open of the five-month-old pregnancy.

Inspector Appau said the victim’s father later reported the case to the police.