Crime & Punishment of Sunday, 24 September 2023

Source: mynewsgh.com

Police intensify hunt for fake doctor who robbed patients

File Photo File Photo

The police in the Western Region have intensified their hunt for an alleged fake Medical Doctor who has been practising at the Takoradi Government Hospital, popularly referred to as The European Hospital.

The police in the Western Region have intensified their hunt for an alleged fake Medical Doctor who has been practising at the Takoradi Government Hospital, popularly referred to as The European Hospital.

The fake doctor MyNewsGh.com has learnt from the Facebook page of renowned broadcast journalist with connect FM Nhyiraba Paa Kwesi Simpson, also stole from patients who were on admission at the facility

The suspect whose name has only been given as Jude, is said to have presented a forged attachment letter from the University of Ghana Medical School (UGMS) to the hospital administration seeking an internship as a Junior Doctor.

It is emerging that the suspect was allowed as an intern at the hospital and was assisting some of the senior Medical Doctors.

Ezoic After days of working with the facility, he adopted a strategy to steal from sick people who were on admission

Sources indicate he collected the mobile phones of all the patients on admission with the excuse that he was keeping them safe from thieves.

“He collected their phones and told them thieves had been coming to the hospital to attack patients so the phones would be kept safe for them. He also convinced them to unlock the phones since someone might urgently call them,” our source indicated.

Whilst the unlocked phones were with the suspect, he started chatting with close contacts of the patients and demanded they send money for emergency care.

“He was posing as the patients whilst using their phones and told their contacts that they needed money for medical care. The people he contacted thought they were chatting with the original owners of the phone and some of them sent an undisclosed amount of money to him”, the sources added.

One of the patients at the hospital was a Nigerian woman domiciled in Takoradi and has been operating a chop bar business. With this information in mind, the suspect went for the services of a Nigerian prostitute at Vienna City in Takoradi and had sex with her; he later used an unsuspecting sex worker to collect money from her Nigerian contacts.

“I was in Vienna on Wednesday when the suspect walked towards me and asked how much I would charge for a night. I told him he would pay GHC 600 but he asked for a reduction and we all agreed on GHC 500. He then opted to go to my place which I obliged because I would take my money afterwards. We had a shower and did whatever we had to do. In the morning, he asked that I give him my mobile money registered number because someone would be sending money to him. He was holding four phones and calls started coming in from Nigeria, he asked me to speak to them in my language”, she indicated. The prostitute, Bella (not her real name) indicated when we visited her at her lodge.

The suspect whilst in Takoradi was being accommodated at the mission house of the Holy Hill Assemblies of God Church located at Mankessim White House.

Authorities of the Takoradi Government Hospital have since reported the case to the Takoradi Central Police Station for prompt action.

The suspect has since been declared wanted whilst medical items believed to have been stolen from the hospital have all been retrieved. Many residents from the Nigerian community in Takoradi have since confirmed sending money to the fake Medical Doctor Jude.