Mason to die by hanging

A Kumasi High Court presided over by Justice Paul K. Richardson has sentenced a 34-year-old mason to death by hanging for murder.

William Koffie had pleaded not guilty to the crime but the jury pronounced him guilty.

He was said to have hit the deceased, Stephen Dzamesi, several times on different parts of the body during a fight over a cash amount of GH¢20.00.

Mr Edward Charles Addo, a State Attorney, said this happened at Bomfa in the Ejisu-Juaben Municipality, on February 14, 2011.

The two (both masons) had been engaged by a developer to work on a building project and had been paid a cash of GH¢300.00, which they shared equally.

The convict managed to persuade the developer to pay an additional amount of GH¢20.00 and kept the money to himself.

Dzamesi later got to know of this, demanded his fair share of the extra cash, which led to a scuffle, during which Koffie picked a shovel and struck him several times in the abdomen and other parts of the body.

The deceased sustained multiple injuries and was rushed to the Bomfa Health Centre by neighbours, where he was treated and discharged.

The prosecution said his condition deteriorate in the early hours of the next day and was sent to the First Klass Hospital at Konongo but died on arrival.

Autopsy report gave the cause of his death as massive internal bleeding following a ruptured spleen caused by a blunt tool.