Mamponteng (Ash), April 21, GNA- George Owusu-Afriyie, a former Reverend Minister, with the Jesus Is Alive Church, at Medoma near Mamponteng in the Kwabre District, was on Wednesday remanded in prison custody by a District Magistrate Court, for assaulting and threatening to kill a pastor of the church.

Owusu-Afriyie, 34, pleaded not guilty and would re-appear on May 4. The accused caused prolonged laughter at the court when he remarked, "My Lord, please deal leniently with me, for I am the servant of the Lord Jesus Christ and cannot kill my own colleague".

Police Inspector Ben Apuriyure told the court presided over by Mr Uuter P. Dery that Owusu-Afriyie threatened to kill Pastor Esther Owusu. He said on April 12, this year, Owusu-Afriyie trailed the complainant to the church's premises where there was an evening service, and attacked the complainant with a sharp knife on her chest and ran away.

The Prosecutor said some members of the church went to her rescue and sent her to the hospital while a complaint was lodged with the police who arrested the accused. Meanwhile, the police have retrieved the knife used in the attack.