General News of Thursday, 19 January 2006

Source: Ghanaian Chronicle

Cops torture man into coma

Barely a few weeks after a murder suspect broke jail from the Wamfie Police Station in the Dormaa District of the Brong Ahafo Region, the police there have again acted unprofessionally, by torturing one Kwabena Twumasi into coma at that Police Station.

A neighbour of the victim, Mr. Eric Frimpong, was also subjected to a severe pounding, leaving him with swollen eyes.

Frimpong and Twumasi were hospitalized at the Wamfie Clinic and Dormaa Presbyterian Hospital respectively, but the former was discharged shortly after his admission, whilst the latter had to undergo medical treatment for five days at the Dormaa Presbyterian Hospital.

The police had tracked Twumasi to his mother-in-law's house, where he was taking his morning bath, and traced him to the bathroom, where the beating started.

The 45-year-old farmer resident at Wamfie, told the Chronicle at the Dormaa Hospital, Twumasi, that four policemen had pounced on him at the bathroom and pummeled him severely with police batons and gun butt till he fell down helplessly.

"Whilst I was being marched to the police station, the police officers, including Detective Inspector Amoah, another popularly called Olonka at Wamfie and two others, were kicking me with their boots, as if I had killed someone, till we got to the station,? he said.

He said at the station, the policemen did not spare him their cruel act, as they lashed him on the back, whilst others still used the baton on him till he fell down again, after which they put him in the cells.

Minutes after, he was kept in the police cells, inmates inside begun shouting and calling the attention of the police personnel at the station that the man they had just brought in was dying.

It was at this juncture that the police officer on duty brought Twumasi out from the cells and started pouring water on him, expecting that he would regain consciousness; but he remained unconscious.

Sensing danger, the police then rushed him to the Wamfie clinic, where the clinic authorities referred Twumasi to the Dormaa Hospital, at which place he was admitted.

As result of the beating, Twumasi sustained various degrees of injury on his two legs and on his back.

Flesh from the shin on both legs were exposed and this, the Medical Officer of the Dormaa Presbyterian Hospital, Dr. Nkrumah, had to work on by stitching.

It was reported that since the police brought Mr. Twumasi to the Dormaa Hospital on January 5, they had failed to come back to find out whether their victim was responding to treatment or not.

According to investigations the Wamfie police, did not issue any police medical form to the victim.

It was not until after he had recovered that his brother, Charles, reported the incident to the district police in Dormaa on January 12 that they issued him with a medical form.

Reports from the Dormaa Hospital indicated that Twumasi was seen at the Hospital on January 5, with cuts on both legs and a swollen face, cuts at the back and painful left knee joint.

The medical report, dated January 16 stated that Twumasi had sustained multiple lacerations on both legs as well as other severe injuries.