Court sentences man to two-week prison custody for insulting it

Kuntanase (Ash), Feb 16, GNA - The Kuntanase magistrate court last Thursday sentenced one Isaac Otaah Domfeh, who claimed to be the head of family of an accused standing trial at the court to two weeks prison custody for contempt.

Domfeh was alleged to have written a letter to the court querying the basis for granting bail to an accused person as a result of which he said he had no confidence in the court to judge the case fairly. The presiding magistrate, Mr Adjei Frimpong after sentencing Domfeh, declined to sit on the case and therefore struck it out. Police Chief Inspector Amanano Acheampong told the court that at about 2230 hours on January 14, this year, one Abena Antwiwaa, a trader at Trede in the Bosomtwe-Atwima-Kwanwoma district of Ashanti, hit the head of one Kofi Owusu with an object during a misunderstanding.

He said Antwiwaa was therefore put before the court and was granted 10 million cedis bail to re-appear on January 26.

Chief Inspector Acheampong said on that January 26, this year, Domfeh wrote a letter to the magistrate in which he claimed that one Comfort Owusu alias "Nsemfoo" came to his house and bragged that she had had discussions with the magistrate over the case. He said the letter stated that Comfort made it categorically clear that whether Domfeh and his people liked it or not Antwiwaa would not be prosecuted and left 10,000 cedis and her telephone numbers so that they could call her.

The prosecution said Domfeh's letter therefore queried why Antwiwaa was given bail while the victim, Owusu was still convalescing and that he therefore did not expect the court to be fair in the case. When the magistrate after reading the letter asked Domfeh whether he wrote the letter, he replied in the affirmative and after a short while, sentenced Domfeh to two weeks prison custody and declined to hear the case.