Six stowaways fined 300,000 cedi

Accra (Greater Accra Region) 13 Oct '98 Six persons including two fishermen Have been fined a total of 300,000 cedis for stowing away. Egya Amanful and Eric Mensah, fishermen, Robert Afful, Frank Anderson, Francis Mensah, and Daniel K. Quainoo, all unemployed, pleaded guilty to stowing away.

Each of them was fined 50,000 cedis or in default go to prison in hard labour for one month. Police Inspector Joseph Anneh Kwame told the tribunal, chaired by Mr Charles L. Quist, that the accused persons who hail from the Central and Western regions travelled to Abidjan at different dates to seek greener pastures.

The prosecutor said when they did not get the work they wanted, they were compelled to do casual labour at the Abidjan harbour. According to the prosecution, on August 13, this year, they sneaked on a foreign ship loading for Italy.

While the ship was on the high seas, they were smoked out and later sent back to Ghana, the prosecution added. GRi