Tuesday, September 8, 2009

ROW OVER RELEASE OF ALLEGED RAPIST (SPREAD)

The release of a suspected rapist, Sumaila Iddrisu, by the Manhyia police is creating misunderstanding between the police and the Attorney-General’s Department in Kumasi.
The suspect, said to be in his early 20’s, was arrested last week for allegedly defiling a class four pupil but was released on bail three days later.
The Attorney-General’s office in Kumasi, apparently unhappy about the development, has expressed misgivings about the granting of bail to the suspect by the police even before the regional office of the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) became aware of the case.
According to an official of the A-G’s office in Kumasi, the granting of bail in cases of such nature fell under the purview of the court and not the police.
A source at the A-G’s office in Kumasi said the police should have referred the docket to the office for advice.
The 10-year-old pupil stirred emotions at the Kumasi office of Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL) when she went to the to narrate her ordeal.
According to the girl, she was yet to recover fully from the feverish attack after the alleged defilement and that she could not urinate, walk, or eat properly.
“It was a tenant in our house who did that to me about two weeks ago and sternly warned that he would beat me to death if I ever disclose the ordeal I went through to either my father or aunt and because I did not want to die from his beatings, I kept quiet.”
“I was alone in the house reading a little book when Sumaila Iddrisu called me into his room. As soon as I entered, he locked the door, removed my red skirt and green blouse and pants and put me in his bed and raped me,” she explained.
“Moments after he inserted his penis into me, I started crying because of the severe pains I was going through, but he covered my mouth with his hand to prevent any noise. After going through the agony and putting on my pants, I saw blood oozing from my private parts to soil the pants, so I quickly removed and washed it to prevent my aunt from detecting the act,” she revealed.
She said “it was very painful, but to prevent my aunt from detecting, I managed to control myself until I got sick a few days later, compelling me to reveal the secret to my aunt, who said I would die if I did not tell her everything that happened to me”.
According to the police, the suspect was granted bail because there was not enough evidence to continue detaining him in police custody.
When contacted, the Manhyia Divisional Police Commander, Mr George Mensah, told the Daily Graphic that the suspect stated in his statement that he was not at home at the time the victim alleged that she was defiled.
He said the suspect also alleged that the aunt of the victim owed him some money and, therefore, conspired with the victim to bring the defilement case against him to prevent her from paying the debt.
The source said while the victim’s mother suspected that the police were not conducting themselves professionally in the investigations of the case, the suspect’s father was alleging that the complainant was framing his son in the case and was also demanding money from them and, therefore, petitioned the A-G.
Dr Stephen Yaw Takyi of the Manhyia Hospital in Kumasi who examined the victim a few days after the incident told the Daily Graphic in an interview on Sunday that “the little girl was going through a lot of pains when she was brought in, so she was not prepared to allow me to examine her well. I, however, detected later that her hymen was broken and there was a little blood in her private parts”.
He also told the Daily Graphic that it was when it was revealed that the girl had been allegedly defiled that he advised that the parents should report the case to the police for them to investigate the circumstances that led to the alleged defilement.

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