Man jailed for posing as French Embassy official

A man who posed as an official of the French Embassy in Accra tasked with the responsibility to recruit teachers for a course in France, has been sentenced to two years imprisonment in hard labour by the Dawurampong circuit court.

John Mark Asno from Logba Alakpeti in the Volta Region pleaded guilty to charges of pretending to be a public officer and defrauding by false pretences.

Prosecuting, Chief Inspector Richard Doku said the accused presented himself to the Gomoa district director of education, Mrs Rose Newman as a cultural attach? at the French Embassy tasked by the Ambassador to recruit teachers for a course in French on government's scholarship.

Chief inspector Doku said the unsuspecting Mrs Newman directed the accused to some JSS French teachers in Apam. He said the accused demanded 183,000 cedis from Mr Daniel Essuman, a French teacher at Apam Methodist JSS as a processing fee for the scholarship documents. Mr Essuman, according to the prosecution, made a part payment of 60,000 cedis.

Chief inspector Doku said on hearing that the accused also approached Mr Lucas Nkrumah of Catholic JSS and Miss Gladys Agbemenu of the Salvation Army JSS and collected 15,000 cedis and 3,500 cedis respectively from them, Mr Essuman became suspicious and rang the Embassy to verify Alakpeti's activities.

The Embassy the accused was not known them and had no knowledge of such a scholarship scheme. The prosecution said following messages sent round the district the accused was arrested at Gomoa Obuasi on October 24.