Accra, July 9, GNA - Mr Wilfred Nkum, a farmer at Asamankese, on Wednesday told the NRC that a Naval Rating on duty at the Tema branch of the Barclays bank threw an object that hit his left eye in 1979 as a result of which he lost his eye.

The witness had gone to the bank during a demonitisation exercise when the incident happened.

Mr Nkum narrating his ordeal said on March 15, 1979 he went to the Barclays Bank at Tema to change 970 cedis and to withdraw 100 cedis after government announced that all old currencies were to be changed in three weeks.

He said he was in the queue when a bank official announced that those with cheques should form a separate queue.

"I was in the queue when I heard a scuffle behind me so I turned to see what it was. An object hit my left eye. I realized it was thrown by the Naval Rating who I later got to know as Richard Delli who was on guard duties at the bank."

Mr Nkum said he fell unconscious and regained consciousness at night at the Tema General Hospital.

He said the medical officials told him that they withdrew the 100 cedis from the bank and used the money to buy drugs for him. According to them they exchanged the 970 cedis and gave it to his sister who later came to the hospital.

Witness said he was transferred to the Korle-bu Teaching Hospital where his left eye was removed during a surgery adding that an artificial one was later put there.

Mr Nkum said he spent three days at the hospital adding that upon his discharge he wrote a petition to the then AFRC but did not get any response.

He said he was 27 years old at the time adding that he could not continue his education after the incident and appealed to the Commission for assistance.

Professor Henrietta Mensah Bonso, Member of the NRC comparing the incident to the general disrespect in the country condemned the advertisement on television against indiscipline in which a madman was seen whipping an adult for urinating by a wall.

She said that advertisement showed no respect to adults adding, "If we show respect to ourselves and to one another then whipping adults in public could not have been shown on Television as a good thing. "What if the madman is not there to whip, does it mean people would go about doing the wrong thing?'' she asked.

Professor Mensah Bonso said if government gave an ultimatum of three weeks during the change of a currency then the result would only be stampede and disorder.

She said the country must take a cue from foreign countries that advertised for months when a currency was being changed. The Commissioner said crowd control was another big problem of the country adding that training in this area for security personnel must be intensified to curb some of the serious mistakes they made.

She said the commission would contact the bank, to find out what it could do to help him as the incident occurred at its premises.