Accra, March 5 GNA - Mr Kweku Obeng, Internal Revenue service (IRS) District Manager for Adum in Kumasi, on Wednesday told an Accra Fast Track High Court that Mr Takyi Abiam, an IRS Cashier who was arrested for falsifying the Service's receipts, has escaped. He said the accused was investigated and put before court and granted bail. Later the Attorney General ordered that he should be used as a prosecution witness.

Mr Obeng was giving evidence in the trial of two employees of the Kumasi Urban Roads Department (KURD) charged with allegedly embezzling four billion cedis belonging to the Department. The case recently appeared at the sitting of Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament, with the Attorney General being asked to prosecute the accused persons.

The two, Nicholas Sakyi, an Accountant of the Department and his Deputy Joseph Kofi Yeboah have been charged with three counts of stealing.

They pleaded not guilty to the charges and have been admitted to bail of two billion cedis each with two sureties to be justified. Mr Obeng said sometime in 2004 when he asked Mr Abiam why revenue submitted by KURD as Withholding Tax for contractors was not forthcoming to the IRS he replied that it was because the government had not released money to pay contractors.

He said one day an official of the BNI came to his office to report that a large sum of Withholding Tax had not been paid to the IRS. Mr Obeng said later he invited Mr Abiam to his regional director to investigate the matter.

He said Mr Abiam brought three receipts and wanted to find out whether they were genuine. He said even though the serial number of the original receipt and the book copy were the same the amount and the name of the taxpayers were different. Mr Atta Akyea, Counsel for Nicholas Sakyi, told the court that it was rather Mr Abiam who should be surcharged for the loss of revenue to government and not his client. The case has been adjourned to March 31, this year.