Hohoe (V/R), June 1, GNA - Richard Abew, 28, a drinking bar attendant at Tsevi, a suburb of Hohoe, has appeared before a Hohoe Magistrate Court for assaulting and stealing school fees and foodstuffs belonging to a 13-year-old pupil.

Abew pleaded not guilty to the charges and will re-appear in Court on June 14, this year.

Inspector Emmanuel Kpodo, prosecuting, told the Court, presided over by Miss Janet Awo Bakudie, that Awiagah was returning to Accra from Kpandai, in the Northern region on May 15, this year, where he had gone to collect his School fees amounting to 900,000 cedis, some foodstuffs and personal effects.

He said after Awiagah alighted at the Hohoe Post Office at about 2300 hours en route to Accra, Abew surfaced and offered to help him to the lorry terminus near the Bank of Ghana at Hohoe, which he obliged. The prosecution said not long after this, two accomplices of Abew, now at large, jointly assaulted and robbed the complainant of his School fees and other items valued at 1,590,000 cedis and bolted. Inspector Kpodo said Abew was arrested after following Police investigation and an identification parade as the mastermind of the crime.