Crime & Punishment of Tuesday, 5 December 2017

Source: ghananewsagency.org

Two Nigerian women jailed after ‘pushing’ student into prostitution

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Two Nigerian women have been sentenced to six months’ imprisonment each in hard labour by a Kumasi Circuit Court for human trafficking.

Sandra Mark and Chinenye Ukwona, were additionally, fined GH?3,600.00 and would spend three more years in prison in default.

The pair would also have to pay compensation of GH?10,000.00 to the victim and this would have to be done through the court.

They were handed the punishment after they both pleaded guilty to the offence.

Police Inspector Eric Asare told the court presided over by Mrs. Lydia Osei Marfo, the convicts had lured the victim, Precious Uwakwem – a student in desperate need for money to re-sit one of her West African Examination Council (WAEC) papers, to Ghana under the pretext of getting her employed as a shop assistant.

They instead sent her to a brothel at Adum, Kumasi, on her arrival in the country on July 19, to engage in the commercial sex trade.

She would however not be pushed into that, fled the place, met one Albert Okoe Harding, told him of her plight and asked for his assistance.

He accompanied him to the police station to make a formal report and the two were arrested.

They confessed to the crime in their caution statement, the prosecution added.