An unemployed man has since 2000 illegally enjoyed the salary of his friend who resigned his post and left to South African to seek greener pastures. All he had to do at the end of every month was to get the friend's pay slip and collect his salary in full at a bank for his enjoyment.

The Ho Police are investigating how the jobless man, Oscar Ben Anku, was able to withdraw the salary from his friend's savings account at the Ho National Investment Bank at the end of every month since the year 2000. Anku is alleged to have impersonated his friend Mark Awuku, a former teacher of Ho-Bankoe E.P. Primary School, and has been collecting his salary until luck eluded him in February this year.

When he went to the school authorities to collect the pay slip it was detected that he had been impersonating Awuku who resigned in October 2000. Briefing "The Spectator" here at the weekend, a police source said Anku and Awuku had been friends for sometime and had been assisting each other.

Awuku decided to travel outside the country and made his intentions known to the suspect who advised him not to relent in his efforts to make it in life. In October 2000, Awuku resigned and left for South Africa. Since then Anku managed to outwit the school authorities and collected pay slips on behalf of his friend, sent them to the bank at the end of every month to collect his salary.

In February this year, the suspect went to the school wearing the usual confidence on his face, to collect Awuku's pay slip. But the school authorities detected the anomaly and arrested him.

During preliminary interrogation by the police, Anku admitted the offence but said he assisted his friend to the tune of over ?500,000 to enable him to embark on the trip to South Africa and had to strike a deal with him to enable him to recover his money. Anku has been placed in police custody pending further investigations.