'My Lord, I beg prison stinks' - Accused

An ex-warrant Officer Class Two (WO.II) of the Ghana Army, Gabriel Nyamekye, 64, created spontaneous laughter when he vehemently pleaded with a Circuit Tribunal in Kumasi last Friday to deal leniently with him because he is married with one wife and 17 children. He caused further laughter in the court when he said his wife had recently delivered and that he is taking care of a five-month old baby.

"Aside from that, my Lord, the "Guardroom" (cells) where I was put in remand, stinks too much and if I go there again, I fear I will die," he told the court in a hilarious mood.

WO.II Nyamekye appeared before the Tribunal with two others, Kwame Bentil, 33 and Kwabena Tawiah, 29, all lotto stakers on Friday, July 13, this year on a charge of operating unlawful lotto and failure to issue tax invoice.

While the ex-militaryman and Kwame Bentil pleaded guilty, Kwabena Tawiah pleaded not guilty. The tribunal chaired by Mr V.C. Senu sentenced WO.II Nyamekye and Bentil to a fine of ?1.5 million each or in default serve six months in prison custody and remanded Tawiah in prison custody.

Prosecuting, Chief Inspector Fabian Kwaku Afesi, told the tribunal that the Asawasi branch of the Asawasi branch of the Golden Souvenir lotto company had a tip-off that some unscrupulous people use the company's name to sell lotto to unsuspecting stakers on plain sheets. A combined team of the company's task force and the police were detailed to Maakro and Anloga, suburbs of Kumasi to cause the arrest of the suspects.

They then disguised themselves and approached the three accused persons at their respective kiosks to stake lotto.

The accused persons un-known to them that the buyers were a task force team, staked their numbers on plain sheets other than the tax invoice authorized by the commissioner of the Value Added Tax (VAT) Service and issued duplicates to them, said the prosecution.