Father kills his two-and-a-half months old baby

Agona Swedru (C/R), Nov. 19, GNA - The Agona Swedru Magistrate's Court presided over by Mr Charles Adjei Wilson has remanded into prison custody a 30 year- old father for killing his two-and-a-half months old baby.

The docket on Kofi Donkoh, alias Kofi Awuah, an Electronics Mechanic, on a provisional charge of murder would be sent to the Attorney - General's Department for advice.

Donkoh, whose plea was not taken, would reappear in Court on December 1, 2004.

Prosecuting, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Christian Bortse told the Court that Donkoh was married to Adjoa Koraba and they had a baby. The couple lived at Awutu Bawjiase in the Central Region.

He said on November 2, 2004 at about 2200 hours there was power outage at Awutu Bawjiase so Koraba went to collect kerosene from Donkoh for her lantern since they stayed within the same vicinity.

When she went to the house of the husband there was misunderstanding between them so the Koraba decided to leave the baby with Donkoh and left for her house.

ASP Bortse said when Koraba went back to the house to collect the baby after about an hour she could not see the baby or the husband. The Prosecution said the following morning Donkoh resurfaced and when Koraba asked him about the baby he told her that he had not seen the child and all efforts to trace the baby proved futile.

ASP Bortse said Donkoh later told his friend that he had put the baby into black polythene bag, tied both ends and deposited it at a refuse dump at Awutu Mankessim, near Awutu Bawjiase.

He said as soon as the friend heard the matter he informed Koraba and she in turn reported the case to Bawjiase Police and Donkoh was arrested.

ASP Bortse said during interrogation Donkoh confessed depositing the baby at the refuse dump so a combined team of Police personnel and relatives Koraba conducted a searched at the refuse dump but to no avail. It was later discovered that pigs had devoured the remains of the baby.