Accra, Jan. 19 GNA - A 27-year-old trader, who allegedly subjected her six-year-old nephew to persistent torture at East Legon in Accra on Thursday appeared before an Accra Circuit Court in tears.

Helen Sena Nyarko, who bowed her head when she entered the dock, pleaded not guilty to the charge of causing harm.

She was remanded into Police custody to reappear on February 2. The large audience at the court jeered and booed at Helena when Police Chief Inspector Lawrence Gbele read out the charge sheet. He prayed the court presided over by Mr Kwame Asiedu to remand Helena while the Police observed the health of the boy, who was receiving treatment at the Police Hospital in Accra.

Chief Inspector Gbele told the court that Helena brought the boy from Jasikan in the Volta Region to stay with her.

He said ever since the boy arrived in Accra, his aunt had subjected him to torture and other maltreatment leading to bruises all over his body, broken arms, bloodshot eyes and a deep cut on his head. Chief Inspector Gbele said Helen sometimes grounded pepper and smeared it on the wounds, eyes and other parts of his body and kept him in confinement for long periods.

Prosecuting Officer Gbele said the ill treatment of the boy caught the attention of sympathisers, who reported his plight of the boy to the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit of the Police Service.