Accra, (Greater Accra) 20 May, '98

Three officials of Amasaman Community Tribunal and two rubber stamp manufacturers yesterday appeared before an Accra circuit tribunal charged with conspiracy, forgery of stamp and official documents and stealing a total of 16.2 million cedis belonging to the tribunal.

They are Joseph Lamptey, Bailiff Grade One and Allotey Brown, District Registrar, both of Amasaman communitry tribunal and Moses Tetteh of the Kaneshie community tribunal.

With them in the dock were Cletus Cheuhunu and Ebo Crankson, both rubber stamp manufacturers. They pleaded not guilty and each was remanded in custody until May 29.

Assistant superintendent of police Patrick A. Sarpong, told the tribunal chaired by Mrs Elizabeth Anderson Yeboah that in February, 1997, Lamptey and Brown manufactured a Bank of Ghana pay-in slip rubber stamp.

ASP Sarpong said Brown gave Lamptey an old copy of a pay-in-slip booklet to photocopy the page on which was the Bank of Ghana cashier's stamp was imprinted. The specimen was sent to Chuchunu and Crankson at K. Dom limited who manufactured the stamp.

With the stamp, they succeeded in duping the tribunal of a total of 7.9 million cedis. They later contacted Brown at Kaneshie tribunal who used the same stamp to dupe the court of another 8.3 million cedis until the deal was detected by the deputy Judicial secretary. gri