Crime & Punishment of Monday, 18 July 2005

Source: GNA

Police arrest farmer for possessing suspected human bones

Mpraeso (E/R), July 18, GNA- The police at Mpraeso have arrested a 43-year-old farmer, Samuel Antwi, for possessing a large quantity of bones suspected to be human skeleton, hidden in an uncompleted building at Mpraeso.

Antwi was granted police enquiry bail while the docket of the case had been sent to the Attorney General's Office for advice. According to the Mpraeso District Police Commander, Assistant Superintendent of Police(ASP), Mr Ben Wonkyi, the arrest followed a tip-off that a quantity of suspected human bones in a big traveling bag was hidden in an uncompleted portion of house number A31 at Mpraeso-Akropong in the Kwahu South District.

He said the police conducted a search in the house on July 4 and retrieved the bag containing skeletons forming an entire body. ASP Wonkyi said the occupants of the house failed to claim ownership of the bag so the police threatened to arrest all them before one of the women said the bag belonged to her husband.

He said when Antwi was later arrested at his store, he claimed the bag containing the bones was given to him by one Boateng at Wassaw Beposo in the Western Region for safe-keeping. ASP Wonkyi said further investigations revealed that the bones were being offered for sale by the suspect at eight million cedis for what was suspected to be for ritual purpose. He said Antwi had been granted a two-week police enquiry bail to produce Boateng.