Two sentenced for committing environmental offences

Suhum (E/R), Oct. 23, GNA - The Suhum magistrate court on Friday sentenced two people to a fine of GHC 200 each for committing environmental offences.

The convicts, Richard Tei, a musician and Nana Oforiwa, a trader, would in default go to jail for six months imprisonment each in hard labour. Mr Raymond Agbodo, a Principal Environmental Officer, told the court that on September 22, environmental health officers on their normal rounds entered the premises of Tei and found that the area behind his kiosks was filthy.

He said Tei's attention was drawn to the unsanitary condition but he became offended and insulted the environmental health officers. The prosecutor said in the case of Nana Oforiwa, she was charged with rearing pigs in a house and indiscriminately dumping of refuse into a stream. He said Nana Oforiwa was warned several times by the environmental health officers to desist from those practices but failed to comply. Mr Agbodo said on September 17, environmental officers on their normal rounds entered Oforiwa's premises and detected that she was rearing pigs there.

The sty was detected to have structural defects and the pigs were straying into a stream and were creating nuisance in the neighbourhood. The prosecutors said by law, pigs are not allowed to be reared near human habitation. The convict, whose attention was drawn to the offence, became offended and started raining insults on the environmental health officers. She was later issued with summons but failed to attend the court and a bench warrant was issued for her arrest.