The 24-year-old senior high school leaver, Eric Bekoe, who over the weekend kidnapped three little girls into his room and chewed off their lips at Apedwa near Kyebi in the East Akim Municipality of the eastern Region, has been sentenced to 30 years' imprisonment by Koforidua circuit court.

The suspect was yesterday handed the sentence by the court presided over by Wilhemina Hammond, when he was put before it on charges of intentionally and unlawfully causing harm to the minors.

He pleaded guilty to three counts of charges of unlawfully and intentionally causing harm to the little girls.

The prosecutor, chief Inspector Patrick Adzadza, who tendered in pictures of the victims in court, said the suspect in his caution statement admitted to the offence and shockingly revealed that he chewed off the lips, swallowed them, drank some blood from the wounds because that was what made him feel good.

The prosecutor said Eric Bekoe took advantage of the innocence of the little girls, aged between two-and-half and four, and lured them into his room when they were sent to buy 'koko', a local porridge, on the morning of Saturday September 1 at Tema, a suburb of Apedwa.

He then did the unthinkable by chewing the lips of the little girls and allegedly inserted his fingers into their private parts after luring them into his room.

When the judge asked him why he did that, he said he was just playing with them. The judge therefore sentenced him to 10 years imprisonments on each of the three counts, which would run consecutively, making it 30 years.

The little girls are currently receiving treatment at the Korle-Bu Teaching hospital in Accra, where GH?9,000 has been donated for their treatment by His Majesty Haulage Services Limited.