Self-styled medical doctor in court over fraud

An Accra Circuit Court has admitted a self-styled medical doctor to bail in the sum of GH¢ 70,000.00 with three sureties for allegedly defrauding a businesswoman of various sums of money.

One of the sureties should be a public servant earning not less than GH¢ 4,000.00.

Fiifi Oware alias Dr Faith Tekpor Mensah pleaded not guilty to the charge. He will make his next appearance on June 7.

Prosecuting, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Evans Kesse told the Court presided over by Mrs Bannerman Williams, that, Madam Jennifer Wiafe, the complainant resides at Spintex in Accra, whilst Oware had no fixed place of abode.

He said on August 27, 2017, the complainant went to the Palace Mall to buy a feeding tube for her daughter who was suffering from hole-in-heart. The prosecution said in the process, complainant placed a call to a doctor at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital to confirm the size of the tube. He said immediately after the call, the accused person approached her and introduced himself as a specialized medical doctor and when he saw the complainant’s daughter, he promised to assist to perform surgery on the little girl. ASP Kesse said the accused made the complainant to understand that he operates from the 37 Military and the Ridge Hospitals as a medical doctor. The Prosecution said few weeks after the promises by Oware, he demanded and collected US$5,000 to take care of the accommodation of his colleague doctors whom he claimed had been invited from the United States to assist him in conducting the surgery.

He said some days later, the accused person called and informed the complainant that his partners had arrived in Ghana and urgently needed an extra US$5,000 which the complainant paid.

The Prosecution said the accused person thereafter, showed complainant a cheque with a face value of US$500,000 and collected an additional GH¢ 16,000.00 from the complainant under the pretext of paying her immediately the said cheque was cleared.

He said after collecting the aforementioned amount from the complainant the accused went into hiding and all efforts made by the complainant to contact him failed.

ASP Kesse said Madam Wiafe later made a formal complaint to the police which led to the arrest of Oware and after investigations, he was arraigned.