A commercial vehicle driver, Appau Atto, 30, is in the grips of the police at Akwadum, in the Eastern Region, for allegedly stabbing three passengers, resulting in the death of one last Sunday.

The deceased, who was rushed to the Saint Joseph’s Hospital at Koforidua for treatment, was pronounced dead on arrival.

The body of the deceased has been deposited at the hospital mortuary, whilst the others are responding to treatment.

According to eyewitnesses, who spoke to the Ghanaian Times, the driver who was in charge of Hyundai H100 mini bus with registration number ER 1623-13, defied the presidential directive on the number of passengers to be taken by commercial vehicles, which triggered a heated argument between the deceased and the other two victims, and the driver.

They said the furious driver, during the argument, dropped all the passengers on board the vehicle in the middle of the journey, as punishment for complaining against the illegal number of passengers he was carrying.

Not satisfied with that, he insisted that all the passengers pay the full fare, despite leaving them stranded.

But, according to the eyewitnesses, the passengers argued that, dropping them in the middle of the journey meant no service rendered, therefore, they would not pay the fare, unless the driver took them to their destination.

The eyewitnesses said the driver became more infuriated, and with extreme anger, went into the vehicle, took a knife, and stabbed the deceased, leading to his death.

The two others, who tried to prevent the driver from carrying out the grievous crime, were not spared, as they were also stabbed.

The three were rushed to the St Joseph’s Hospital where the deceased was pronounced dead on arrival.

Meanwhile, the other passengers managed to overpower the culprit and took him to the Akwadum Police Station, where he was detained.

When contacted, the Eastern Regional Police Public Relations Officer, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Ebenezer Tetteh, confirmed the incident, but explained that he was yet to be given detailed briefing on the case.