A 38-year-old mason who thought the best way to curtail the stealing habit of his niece was to tie, beat her up and insert fresh pepper into her vagina has found himself in the grips of the Tema Police.

The man, Wesley Adzovi, a resident of Kpone, near Tema, according to officials of the Tema branch of the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU), was arrested when his 14-year-old niece reported to him to the Kpone Police Station for beating her and inserting fresh pepper into her vagina in a locked room in their home.

Narrating the incident to Daily Guide, a source at the unit noted that the victim was reported to have stolen a mobile phone from a resident of the area. The victim, a class five pupil, suddenly disappeared shortly after allegedly stealing the mobile phone which was believed to have been sold to another resident for ¢GH30, in a bid to raise money to flee from her uncle.

She was reported to have left home on Thursday after stealing the phone and was not seen until Tuesday when she arrived at a spot near her uncle’s residence to seek the support of her younger brother who was to sneak some clothes for her to embark on her intended trip. Luck however eluded her when she was spotted by Adzovi who chased her and later brought her into his room where he used a nylon rope to tie her hands and legs.

His uncle was said to have beaten her mercilessly which resulted in cuts over her body and face. He then later inserted the fresh pepper into her vagina, after which he beat her up again. Not being able to stand the inhumane treatment meted out to her, the victim was reported to have quickly dashed to the Kpone police station where she lodged a complaint against Adzovi who was quickly arrested.

The victim confirmed the incident to journalists saying that it was true she sometimes stole items and money from her uncle and his wife, but explained that she always did that to buy food for herself and her little brother who also lived with the uncle.

She noted that she was always given 30 pesewas daily, an amount she said was too meagre to sustain her for a day. She claimed that she actually stole the mobile phone and sold it for GH¢30, with a view to using the money to flee back to Dabala in the Volta Region where she was living with an aunt before she was brought to Kpone. “I am not a thief. I only steal when I am hungry because the 30 pesewas I am given in a day is inadequate”, she said.

Westley Adzovi admitted tying his niece and beating her up.

“Do you know that when I go out, people in the area laugh and point fingers at me as the uncle of the 14-year-old thief?” he asked.

Asked if he knew that it was a crime to subject a minor to such inhumane treatment, Adzovi declined to answer and went on to say that what he did was to correct his niece from a habit that had the tendency of affecting her adult life. Adzovi is currently in police custody pending further investigations into the matter and is expected to be put before court in Tema.