Accra, March 16, GNA - A trader who allegedly bit off the left cheek of her colleague, chewed it before spitting it out has appeared before an Ac= cra Circuit Court charged with causing harm. Hazifatu Tanko, 27, pleaded guilty and the court remanded her and deferred sentence to Tuesday, March 23.

The court noted that in the 21st Century, the action of the accused person should be punished under the country's laws. Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Margaret Awuni, prosecuting=

said the accused and complainant Fauzia Tanko 25, are friends who lived a= t Railways, near Agbogbloshie in Accra.

She said on the night of March 12, this year, a misunderstanding ens= ued between the complainant's boyfriend and the accused who claimed she had b= een assaulted by the complainant. ASP Awuni said the following day, at about 0600 hours, the accused attacked the complainant and bit off her left cheek. Prosecution said the complainant bled profusely and was sent to the Police station where a medical form was issued to her to attend hospital. She said when the accused was compelled to produce the portion of th= e cheek bitten off; she chewed and spit it out. The accused told the court that she acted in self defence.