By Gifty Amofa/ Dorphina Ansah
Accra, Sept. 11, GNA- An Accra Circuit Court has granted a GHC50,000.00 bail with two sureties each, to two persons over fake documents to obtain a GHC400,000.00 insurance claim.
Accused persons, Joseph Amaning and Baffour Nkyi, were said to have allegedly jointly forged a Glico insurance claim documents composed of postmortem report, Police accident report, death certificate and burial permit of one deceased Jacob Tetteh for the claim.
The Court presided over by Mr Isaac Addo also ordered Amaning and Nkyi to report to the Police every Friday between 1100 hours and 12noon.
They will make their next appearance on September 25, 2023.
Meanwhile, Gideon Agyei Gyamfi, their alleged accomplice, was absent from court.
They are facing charges, including conspiracy to commit crime to wit, forgery of document, forgery of documents and defrauding by false pretense but their pleas were not taken pending further investigations.
Police Chief Inspector Samuel Ahiabor prayed the Court to remand the accused persons into Police custody to prevent them from interfering with investigations.
Defense counsels for both Amaning and Nkyi, in praying for bail, said their client had cooperated with the Police since their arrest, they were not flight risks, had fixed places of abode and had men of substance to stand and sureties.
Prosecution told the court that Complainant Alexander Boakye-Yiadom was the Claims Officer at the Head Office of GLICO Life Insurance Company at Adabraka. Amaning is a building contractor who lived at Tema Community 9 whereas Nkyi, a businessman lived at East Legon and Gyamfi, also a businessman, is a resident of Akrade-Akosombo.
Chief Inspector Ahiabor said on January 19,2023, the complainant received GLICO Insurance Claim doucments from Amaning and Gyamfi who claimed to be brothers of the said Jacob Tetteh, who was alleged to have died through a motor accident for claims of GHC400,000.00 which was detected to have been fraudulently procured during checks on the documents.
He said on May 22,2023, a report was subsequently made at the Adabraka Police Station for investigation, Amaning was arrested and during interrogation he confessed to having filled in and submitted the said form given to him at the GLICO Office by Gyamfi.
Amaning confessed that Gyamfi called him on the phone to meet him at GLICO Office and that his name appeared on the policy document as a beneficiary.
Prosecution said on May 30,2023 Nkyi whose name appeared on the receipts of payments in respect of the death certificate and burial permit of deceased Tetteh was also arrested and during interrogation he denied the offence.
On June 28,2023, Gyamfi was also arrested at Atinpoku in the Eastern Region and upon interrogation he denied the offence in his caution statement, the Court heard.
Investigation then revealed that Tetteh died at the Kibi Government Hospital on September 25, 2022, after a short illness and was buried at Asikasu Number 2 near Tafo in the Eastern Region on October 5,2022.
He said investigations which extended to the Asesewa Police Station also disclosed that there was no accident case reported on the said date December 25,2022 as included in the claim document.
The District Commander at Asesewa Police Station, Prosecution said, denied knowledge of the said accident report and submitted his statement to that effect, Chief Inspector Ahiabor said.
He said the investigator at Asesewa Police Station whose name and signature appeared on the coroner’s form, also denied knowledge of the document and that the accused persons were not in any way related to the deceased.
Further investigation revealed that soon after the death of the deceased, Nkyi and his accomplices bought Funeral and Life Insurance Policy from the GLICO Insurance branch office at Koforidua in the name of deceased Tetteh and further managed to fraudulently procure the necessary supporting documents to support their claim before GLICO Insurance Headquarters in Accra.
GNA