Crime & Punishment of Thursday, 19 October 2006

Source: GNA

Two former students sentenced to nine months imprisonment

Nkawkaw, Oct. 19, GNA - A magistrate court at Nkawkaw has sentenced two former students of St Peters and Mpraeso Secondary schools to nine months imprisonment each for impersonation in the on-going November Senior Secondary School Examination (SSSCE) at the Nkawkaw Secondary School examination centre

The former students, who pleaded guilty to the charges of conspiracy to impersonate and impersonation, are Frank Asamoah, 22, a former student of St Peters Secondary School at Nkwatia and Najeem Benson, 24, a former student of Mpraeso Secondary School. Prosecuting, Chief Inspector Victor Aleawornor told the court that on October 9 while Mr Charles Henyo, an Assistant Registrar of the WAEC in-charge of Nkawkaw Examination Depot, was on his usual rounds during the Chemistry One section A paper, he came across a table with index number 742502056 without any candidate at the table where the objective question had already been answered without the answer booklet. He said the question paper bore the same index number with Najeem Benson written on it.

The prosecutor said after waiting for about 30 minutes without the return of Benson, he took the question paper away but Benson did not return to the examination hall again until the end of the paper. An answered script bearing the name of Benson was submitted.

He said the Assistant Register became suspicious and mounted surveillance during section B of Chemistry paper One and at the end of that paper, Frank Asamoah who registered with index number 742502055 submitted an answered script bearing the index number and name of Najeem Benson and was immediately arrested and handed over to the police. Chief Inspector Aleawornor said Benson went to the police station with his brothers to secure bail for Asamoah but he was also arrested when they detected that he was Najeem Benson and was charged with the offence.