Takoradi, June 10, GNA - A Takoradi circuit court has remanded 47-year-old George Doh, a building contractor, into prison custody for defrauding a Ghana Commercial Bank lawyer. He pleaded not guilty. Doh would re-appear on June 19.

Prosecuting, Police Chief Inspector Joseph Hedidor told the court that Doh told Mr Kweku Gyemah-Kye in March 2004 that he had won a contract at the Jomoro District Assembly and needed a financier to guarantee the project. He said Mr Gyemah-Kye went with the suspect, who also claimed to be the Managing Director of GEBET Construction Company, and guaranteed the project.

Mr Hedidor said meetings were held with the District Chief Executive, Mr. Martin Nyamikeh-Ackah, the District Tender Board and the other parties for the construction of a hospital at Half Assini valued at 147 million cedis.

After the meetings the suspect demanded several sums of monies from Mr Gyemah-Kye and asked him to send some building materials to the site for the project to begin. Unknown to Mr Gyemah-Kye, Doh wrote to the assembly directing it to pay the entire amount into his private account instead of the account of Mr Gyemah-Kye.

All efforts to claim the money and cost of building materials from the suspect proved futile.