Prosecution pray for short adjournment in Amoateng's case

The prosecution in the case involving Eric Amoateng, a former Member of Parliament for Nkoranza North, over a forged passport, on Wednesday prayed the court for a short adjournment.

Prosecuting Deputy Superintendent of Police Aidan Derry said the adjournment is necessary for him to be able to present his fifth witness to the court.

He told the court that he has contacted the witness who is supposed to be the Director of Passports who has agreed to be in court but would be available on April 9.

The court presided over by Madam Helen Amoah, therefore adjourned the case to April 9 for the prosecution to present the witness as indicated.

At the last sitting, the defence counsel ended cross examining the fourth prosecution witness.

The witness, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) John Kweku Lodonu, of the Criminal Investigation Department Headquarters, during cross-examination said, he received a report from the first prosecution witness, which he tendered in evidence.

Counsel for the accused person, Mr Charles Pouzuing, asked the witness whether he charged the accused person, based on the report he received. The witness responded in the affirmative, saying that the report formed part of his investigations.

When asked what offence he charged the accused person with, ASP Lodonu said he charged him for possessing forged documents.

The defence counsel again asked the witness whether in his investigations the accused person indicated that he was not aware that the passport had been tempered with, and he said yes he did.

The witness said after the presentation of the case in court, he had done further investigations, but had not amended the facts in support of the charges.

Mr Lodonu answered that the facts indicated that the passport was issued while the accused person was in custody, and confirmed that the passport in terms of investigations was seen as forgery on forensic analysis.

He ended by telling the court that looking at the passport with the naked eye, one cannot detect whether it was forged or not.

Mr Amoateng is alleged to have travelled to Ghana with a female Ghanaian Passport number H2347080 after serving his conviction abroad. He has pleaded not guilty, and has been admitted to bail in the sum of GH¢ 200,000.00.

The case for the State is that, in December 2005, he went to the United States, and was arrested in the same month for possessing heroin, a narcotic drug.

He was jailed, and after serving his sentence, Amoateng was released from prison on July 30, 2014.

On August 7, that same year, the accused person arrived at the Kotoka International Airport on board a Delta Airline flight at 1420 hours, and while going through arrival formalities, it was detected that he had in his possession a Ghanaian Passport number H2347080, which was allegedly forged, with the bio-data page substituted.