General News of Monday, 22 October 2007

Source: GNA

Six Koforidua Polytechnic students arrested

Koforidua, Oct. 22, GNA- The Eastern Regional Police Command, on Monday arrested six students of the Koforidua Polytechnic for assaulting a first year female student and her family after a matriculation ceremony last Saturday.

The students, whose names were being withheld, assaulted the victim and her family when they tried to restrain them from 'ponding' her with sewage water at the hostel premises. A police source told the GNA that the incident happened last Saturday around 1400 hours after the closing of the 12th matriculation ceremony.

He said when the victim and her family entered the premises some of the students had already been "ponded" with the contaminated water. The source said as the victim entered the premises they tried to "pond" her but her mother pleaded with the students to allow her to go and change her attire since she was wearing a white suit, which could be soiled.

The victim then went and changed and came down for the "ponding", but the students who were apparently not happy with the interference of the mother started hitting the student with the plastic bucket filled with the wastewater. The source said the victim in the process fell and at that point the mother and the sisters tried to restrain the suspects from further hitting her. He said the suspects then pounced on the mother and one of the student's sister and assaulted them with slaps. The woman reported the matter to the Police, but when they arrived at the scene the students had vanished, but were later arrested. The victim was issued with a police medical form to go to the Central Hospital in Koforidua where she was treated and discharged.