A 24-year-old commercial driver was sentenced to nine months in prison by the Assin-Fosu District Court for biting the fingers of a police officer while resisting arrest.
Ebenezer Nkoom, the convict, pleaded guilty to 13 charges, including causing harm, unlawful harm, resisting arrest, and other traffic violations.
In the court presided over by Abdul Majeed Illiasu, he begged for mercy.
Chief Inspector Gilbert Ayongo, prosecuting, identified the complainants as General Constable Samuel Ayamba and Constable Sophia Essel of the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD)’s Central North Regional Police Command.
On Friday, April 7, 2023, at approximately 6:30 a.m., the complainants were assigned to manage traffic on the Assin-Fosu old market stretch of the highway, where they observed the convict driving a Hyundai Atos taxicab with registration number CR 1157-20.
According to the prosecutor, the convict stopped at an undesignated location to pick up passengers without regard for other road users.
The officers approached the driver and told him not to pick up passengers at that location and to leave.
He was adamant, however, and said he would continue to pick up passengers from that location until the police arrested all other drivers who did the same.
A couple of hours later, Chief Inspector Ayongo stated that the convict returned to the same location, which led to his arrest.
While the officers boarded his vehicle to be driven to the Regional MTTD, the convict instead drove them to an unknown location and attempted to flee.
During the arrest, he resisted and bit General Constable Ayamba’s finger, “inflicting severe injuries on his hand,” according to the prosecutor.
A witness to the incident quickly picked up the injured police officer and pursued the convict, who drove the vehicle into a nearby bush, abandoned it, and fled.
The incident was reported by the two officers to Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Wonder Lumor, the Central North Regional MTTD Commander, who dispatched two plain-clothed police officers and CID officers to the scene.
According to the prosecutor, the convict emerged about an hour later with two others and was arrested to assist with investigations.
A thorough examination of the vehicle and documents revealed that he had failed to validate his driving licence since Tuesday, 1 February 2022, and was driving a commercial vehicle at the unauthorised age of 24, rather than 25 or older.
He was also driving a commercial vehicle that lacked a spare tyre, warning lights and a fire extinguisher, among other things.
