A farmer Kofi Inkoom, 23, was on Thursday remanded in police custody by a Cape Coast Magistrate Court for attempting to murder a father and three daughters at Assin Atobiase.

Inkoom’s plea was not taken and he would reappear on Wednesday November 14.

Chief Inspector Osafo Khanni told the court presided over by Mr Ohemeng Mensah that the complainant Mr Kwadwo Gyasi, a farmer, and his daughters Gloria Obeng-Gyan, 15, Philomena Obeng-Gyan ,10, and Christiana Obeng-Gyan, 7, live together in the same house at Assin Atobiase.

He said sometime in May this year, Gloria reported to her father that Inkoom had sexually abused her in the bush when she was returning from the farm, the complainant reported the matter to the Chief of Assin Atobiase who summoned Inkoom for an arbitration.

Chief Inspector Khanni said Inkoom who sensed that his action would be exposed during the arbitration decided to kill the entire Gyasi family and went for a poisonous leaf which is commonly called “Adubrafo”, grinded it and sneaked into the kitchen of the unsuspecting family at night and dropped it into a pot of leftover soup.

Chief Inspector Khanni told the court that the victims unaware that the soup was poisoned ate it before leaving the house and that after some minutes they felt dizzy and developed stomach aches which resulted in diarrhoea and vomiting.

He said the victims were rushed to a nearby clinic where they were treated, discharged and referred to St. Francis Xavier Hospital in Assin Foso for further treatment.

The prosecutor said suspecting Inkoom, the Odikro of the town, Nana Kwabena Mensah, summoned him before the elders where he confessed to have poisoned the soup of the victims.