The incident at the Abelenkpe branch of Marwako Fast Food where Evelyn Boakye, a Ghanaian kitchen staffer’s face, was dipped into a paste of pepper by her Lebanese supervisor, Jihad Chaaban, will be investigated and the perpetrator punished severely, Fred Oware, Chief Executive Officer of the Bui Power Authority, has said.

According to him, the inhumane treatment should not be condoned under any circumstance in the country.

Mr Oware told host Chief Jerry Forson on Ghana Yensom on Accra 100.5FM on Monday 6 March: “I got livid after hearing this story and I have decided to take it up and find out the truth in it. If, indeed, this happened to the lady, I will personally ensure that the perpetrators are made to face the full rigours of the law.

“This incident must stop. The person is only working for you; even in the event that the person has committed an offence, the worst you can do is to dismiss her, not assault her. We should not condone such occurrences in our country.”

Meanwhile, Mr Chaaban, in a letter dated 5th March, 2017, has apologised to Evelyn, saying: “I wish personally to sincerely apologise to you for the incident on the night of 26 February 2017 at our Abelenkpe place of work.

“True to God, all I sought to do was to point you to something I found wrong. I admit I was angry a bit at the moment and saw you panic and accidentally resulting in the pepper splashing onto your face.

“Please don’t feel I have any hatred for you because you got the police to arrest me and I have to face prosecution and disciplinary proceedings at the same time. I also regret that you may have felt the transport money I gave you was intended to stop you from taking any action. I take my suspension in good faith because of what happened, which has not only hurt you but also brought such embarrassment to the company we both gave our best to give it the excellent reputation it enjoys.”

But Evelyn has rejected the apology. She told host Jerry Forson: “I cannot accept the apology because if the police had not come in, the matter would have been a ‘foolish’ case. I was told by one Ali (also a worker there) that I was not the first person to have experienced this treatment at the place, and that even those handling the chicken also experienced same treatment. He suggested to me that we come together to use this incident to extort money from Chaaban but I said no, I wanted justice.

“Because I rejected that ploy, my co-workers have all turned against me and so I cannot accept the apology. I know God will deal with this matter.”