State prosecutors have been detailing how a self-styled medical doctor claiming to be working at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital was arrested by the management of the Tafo Government Hospital.
The suspect Prince Agyapong, 32, faced a circuit court at Old Tafo in Kumasi on Tuesday (6 February) and has been charged with defrauding by false pretence, contrary to Section 131 of the Criminal Offences Act, Act 29 of 1960.
He has also been charged with another count of wilfully and falsely practising medicine contrary to section 48 of the Health Professional Regulatory Bodies Act, 2013 (Act 857).
Detective Inspector S K Oppong prosecuting told the court that on Monday (5 February) at about 10 am the suspect, wearing a doctor’s apparel with his name tag, took an eighty-year-old patient to the said health facility and told the health staff that he was a medical doctor with the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH).
The court heard that the suspect indicated to the hospital that he takes care of the patient at home and that he needed medical attention due to his deteriorating health condition.
But officials of the facility most of whom were at the Out-Patient Department (OPD) became suspicious and questioned the suspect’s identity including the unit where he was stationed at the KATH. He was immediately arrested after he failed to give any reasonable answer.
He was handed over to the police at the Tafo Pankrono Station where he was detained. The suspect, according to the prosecution admitted in his investigation caution statement that he is not a medical doctor working at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH).
A search in his handbag revealed one sphygmomanometer, a quantity of syringes, cotton wool, a stethoscope, and a tourniquet. A further search in his house at Ahwiaa also revealed a digital sphygmomanometer. All materials have been retrieved as exhibits. The suspect was later prepared and put before the court.
Agyapong has pleaded not guilty to both charges.
The prosecution, however, prayed the court to remand the suspect into police custody to assist police investigations.
The court granted the request and remanded the suspect into police custody to reappear on 27 February 2024.
Reporting by Jonathan Ofori, Old Tafo, Ashanti Region
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