By Joyce Danso
Accra, July 14, GNA- A Technologist who allegedly swindled a US-based military officer of GHC103,300 under the pretext of providing her with 10 plots of land has appeared before an Accra Circuit Court.
Kwaw Egya Asmah, collected the money when the complainant who had needed land to build an orphanage in Ghana.
Asmah allegedly agreed to offer the complainant 10 plots at Ayikuma, near Dodowa.
He has pleaded not guilty to the charge of defrauding by false pretences.
The court presided over by Mrs. Evelyn Asamoah admitted Asmah to bail in the sum of GHC250,000 with three sureties, two of whom are to be public servants.
The court further directed Asmah to deposit his passport at the court’s registry.
It asked the prosecution to file their disclosures and serve the accused person with the same.
The matter has been adjourned to August 22, 2023.
Chief Inspector Benson Benneh prayed to the court that in granting bail, it should be minded of the fact that, the Police had to apply force to apprehend Asmah and charged him with the crime.
He told the Court that Asmah failed to report to the Police after several invitations had been extended to him.
The prosecution, therefore, urged the court to order Asmah to deposit his passport as part of his bail condition.
Defence Counsel denied that Asmah failed to report to the Police, insisting that his client perceived evasiveness did not warrant an order to deposit his passport at the court’s registry.
The case of the prosecution was that the complaint, whose name is withheld, is Military personnel domiciled in the United States of America, while Asmah resided in Accra.
The prosecution said in 2014, the complainant was introduced to Asmah by a witness in the case as someone who owned plots of land for sale.
It said the complainant was in search of parcels of land to establish an orphanage and she chose Dodowa as the most suitable place for that endeavour.
The prosecution said Asmah told the complainant that he had vast land at Ayikuma near Dodowa and offered to sell each plot at GHC6,000.
It said Asmah led the complainant and a witness in the case to the land for inspection and thereafter demanded and collected GH₵8,000 as an initial deposit.
The prosecution said Asmah collected various sums of money totalling GHC₵95,300 from the complainant as the cost of documentation covering the land.
The complainant thereafter returned to the US.
In 2019, the complainant returned to Ghana and requested Asmah to lead her and a witness to the 10 plots of land she had paid for but was taken to a different lot.
It said the complainant then became suspicious of Asmah’s conduct.
The prosecution said two years later the complainant came back to Ghana to commence the work on the land only to find out that some other person was developing the lot.
It said Asmah could not give a reasonable explanation for the development of the second land .
The prosecution said investigations revealed that Asmah did not engage the rightful owners of the land and that he did not own any lot.
Further investigations revealed that Asmah “was in the habit of defrauding prospective land buyers by bringing them to the same location.”
The prosecution said in June 2023, the complainant reported the matter to the police.
On July 4, 2023, Asmah refused to report to the Police when he was invited.
According to the prosecution, Asmah was arrested by the police and during interrogation, admitted the offence.
GNA