Accra, Sept. 11, GNA - An Accra Circuit Court on Thursday remanded into prison custody Thomas Kpakpo Thomspon, Managing Director of Tommark Advertising Limited, publishers of Free Press, for extorting money from a Sub-Metropolitan Council Chairman to "kill" a story about him.

He pleaded not guilty to extortion.

Kpakpo, who writes for the Free Press, would reappear on September 15. The facts presented before the court chaired by Mr Willy Wise Kyeremeh were that on August 21, Thompson confronted Mr Kofi Ofori in his office that he had a story about his involvement in the sale of the former offices of the Ablekumah Sub-Metropolitan Council at Abossey Okai, which were converted into stores that he wanted to publish. Prosecuting Chief Inspector Kofi Adu said Thompson further produced a document containing a report on investigations into the occupancy of the stores and said he would dwell his story on that document. Mr Ofori, who is an Assemblyman for Kwashieman Electoral Area, asked Thompson to go ahead with his publication.

Instead of publishing the story, Thompson, however, returned on August 22 to demand one million cedis from Mr Ofori to enable him to drop the story. The Mr Ofori asked Thompson to go and come back on August 25 for the money. Thompson obliged but security agencies were alerted and the serial numbers of the money were written down. Thompson returned to Ofori's office and he gave him 500,000 cedis and asked him to wait as he had sent his brother to go and bring the rest of the money. He was, however, apprehended by the security agencies.