MoMo merchant handed a six-month prison sentence for impersonating a public official
An Accra Circuit Court has sentenced Mr. Richard Sie, a Mobile Money (MoMo) merchant, for impersonating Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Charles Domanban, the Oti Regional Police Commander.
Sie had instructed a police combat team to release his accomplice, Ismaila Issaka, a bar attendant who was arrested for the unlawful possession of narcotic drugs.
Issaka, found with a quantity of Indian hemp and narcotic drugs weighing 24.66 grams without lawful authority, was sentenced to a fine of 200 penalty units (equivalent to GH₵2,400) and six months in prison with hard labor.
Sie, due to his bold impersonation, received a six-month prison sentence with hard labor. The court found him guilty of falsely pretending to be a public officer.
The incident began when a police combat team stationed at the National Operations Department of the Ghana Police Service, while on duty in Teshie, stopped an Uber car carrying Issaka for a random search.
They discovered the suspicious dried leaves believed to be Indian hemp in Issaka’s bag, promptly arresting him. Issaka requested to call Sie and asked him to impersonate DCOP Domanban to secure his release.
Upon receiving the call, Sie identified himself as the Oti Regional Police Commander and instructed the combat team to release Issaka immediately.
However, when his orders were not obeyed, Sie went to Teshie Bush Road to ensure Issaka’s release, where he was subsequently arrested for impersonating the police commander.
The dried leaves, suspected to be Indian hemp, were examined at the Police Forensic Laboratory and found to contain cannabis with a total weight of 24.66 grams.
Source – citinewsroom.com
