Court adjourns Lamptey Mills' case

Accra, Oct. 19, GNA - Defence counsel for Enoch Nii Lamptey Mills, proprietor of the Great Lamptey Mills Schools, and two others on Monday informed the Accra Circuit Court of an amicable settlement of the matter. However, the case was adjourned because the complainant, Mr Andrew Lanquaye, was not in court.

Mr. Alfred Bannerman-Williams Junior, counsel for three accused persons,=

noted that at the last sitting of the court a letter emanating from the family of two accused persons, Evelyn Engman and Georgina Sarbah, indicat= ed they had met and taken notice of the possible ramification of the matter. According to defence counsel, the view of the family was that the matter=

involved a child whose welfare would be better protected and promoted if the case was resolved amicably. Defence counsel contended that the offence was a misdemeanor and in the spirit of the Court's Act the matter must be resolved amicably. Mills is said to have been charged with compulsion of marriage. Two other accomplices including the victim's mother, Evelyn, have also b= een charged with abetment of crime.

Following the submission of the defence counsel, the court presided over by Mrs Georgina Mensah-Datsa, demanded the whereabouts of the complaint, Mr Andrew Lanquaye, before taking any decision. Mr. Lanquaye was not present when the matter was called, hence that case=

was stood down for some minutes. Mills accomplices made frantic phone calls to facilitate the complainant's arrival in court.

According to Chief Inspector A.A. Ahor, he had asked the complainant to come to court and that he could not explain why he was not in court. The court did not take the plea of the accused persons. It, however, admitted them to self recognizance bail.

The court after waiting in vain for the arrival of complainant adjourned= the matter to October 22 and ordered the appearance of the complainant an= d head of family of the accused persons to ascertain their claims. As soon as the case was adjourned, Evelyn rained insults in Ga on journalists "Stupid people, if you get close to me I will slap you, Go an= d report, you will die one after the other." The Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service arrested Lamptey Mills, 42, for allegedly marrying a minor= , The victim, whose name is being withheld and is now 18 years old, is= a former student of Mills' school at Kasoa in the Central Region. DOVVSU said that parents of the victim detected that the girl was pregnant and when she was interrogated, she said the proprietor was responsible.

According to DOVVSU, the family of the victim sent a delegation to the proprietor, who asked that the pregnancy should be aborted because of his reputation but they objected to his suggestion. After two months, the source said, Mills met the family of the victim and performed the marriage rites and promised the victim a house, upkeep of the child and sponsorship to continue her education. His promises turned out to be a hoax when after the baby was born, the maintenance became a problem and in June this year, DOVVSU got wind of the case and started its investigations.

Under the Children's Act 560 of 1998 section 14 subsection two, the minimum age of marriage of whatever kind should be 18 years, and that a person who contravenes the law would be liable to a fine not exceeding GH¢500.00 or a term of imprisonment not exceeding one year.