Sekondi, Jan.18, GNA 97 The Western Regional Division of the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) recorded 100 defilement and 255 wife battery cases out of 997 crime cases received from the public last year.

The Western Regional Coordinator of the DOVVSU, Assistant Superintendent of Police Lawrence Gbele, told the GNA that the rising wife battery could be attributed to situations where children were born out of wed lock.

He said when the mothers of the children wanted to collect money from their male counterparts to cater for the children it mostly resulted in the men assaulting them.

Other criminal cases recorded by the division last year included 18 rape cases, 225 assault, 18 stealing, 1 incest and 25 unlawful child remova= l cases. The rest were 16 abductions, 50 offensive conduct, one attempted kidnapping, 29 threatening, 29 threats of death and 19 unlawful ejection cases.