The Ghana Police Service has intensified the search for a 74-year-old man accused of tying a nine-year-old to a tree in the Akaa Community of the Jasikan Municipality in the Oti Region.
The incident, which came to many in the community as a shock, occurred after the elderly man allegedly bound the young boy, accused of stealing some oranges, to the orange tree.
The culprit, Timothy Gyamfi Mensah, a retired Circuit Supervisor, has gone into hiding after the boy was rescued from his ordeal.
Community members who came to the boy’s aid and untied him from the tree expressed shocked by the actions of the retired professional teacher.
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Entwi Baikaa, a local government appointee and native of the Akaa Community, confirmed the incident in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA). According to Baikaa, the boy had entered Mr. Mensah’s house and picked two oranges. In response, the enraged man restrained and mistreated the boy by tying him to the orange tree.
Baikaa mentioned that news of the incident primarily spread through social media once the video went viral, catching many Akaa residents off guard. He noted that Mr. Gyamfi was currently evading authorities.
The victim’s grandmother, Madam Ama Bekoe Donkor, took the boy to the Jasikan Municipal Hospital for treatment after the incident. A team from the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service is investigating the case, guided by the victim himself.
The incident has been reported to Jasikan Municipal Chief Executive, Mrs. Elizabeth Kessiwaa Anim-Adjanor, who has promised to ensure justice prevails.
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Jasikan Municipal Health Directorate to assist find the 74-year-old
The Jasikan Municipal Director of Health Services, Mr. Annobil Isaac, confirmed that the case had not reached her attention but pledged to consult with the Office of Public Defense (OPD) and provide an update on Monday.
In the meantime, the police are actively searching for the accused perpetrator.