Tema, July 5 GNA -- Fifteen persons were on Monday fined a total of 5.7 million cedis by a Tema Circuit Tribunal for failing to pay their television (TV) licence fees. A year's default carried a fine of 200,000 cedis or four months imprisonment.

Some of them had not paid their licences for between two and four years.

A TV licence is 3,000 cedis for domestic users and 20,000 cedis per annum for TV repairers and dealers.

Some of the accused persons wept bitterly and explained that they paid their accumulated bills weeks before the TV taskforce called at their homes but the tribunal rejected their plea.

The taskforce leader explained that the law does not favour accumulation of bills and it is expected that payments of licence fees are done in January or the first quarter of the year.

Mr Ringo Cass Azumah, the tribunal chairman was suspicious of receipts produced by some of the accused persons, which indicated that their television sets were purchased recently.

He, therefore, requested the TV licence taskforce to investigate such cases else most defaulters would escape penalty.

Chief Inspector Edith Nutakor stated that the taskforce which was on their usual checks on payment of TV licence detected that the accused persons had not paid for between two and four years.

Thirty more defaulters failed to appear before the tribunal and bench warrants were issued for their arrests.