Lance Corporal Benjamin Terkutey
GENERAL LANCE Corporal Benjamin Terkutey, a policeman, on Friday appeared at an Accra Circuit Court on the charges of conspiracy to commit crime and robbery.
Benjamin was alleged to have conspired and robbed one Xiameng Shen, a Chinese and Engineer with the Chinese Embassy, of an amount of GH?500.00, two mobile phones and an IPad.
The court, presided over by Francis Obiri, remanded the accused person into prison custody to reappear on May 14, after he had pleaded guilty on the count of conspiracy and not guilty on the count of robbery.
Assistant State Attorney, Fred Kusim Awindaogo told the court that on August 4, 2013, the complainant, Xiameng, was driving a Chinese Embassy pick-up vehicle with registration number CD 2665 X, from Spintex near Accra, towards the Embassy office at the Airport Residential Area.
He said on board were three other colleagues, Fang Zhongpeng, Fujiang Xue and Xu Minghua, who are all Chinese nationals and engineers at the Embassy.
According to Mr. Fred Kusim Awindaogo, on reaching a section of the Spintex road ? at the Tetteh Quarshie interchange ? Benjamin and one Patrick Cobby (now at large) in an unregistered Hyundai Saloon car driven by Patrick, crossed the vehicle of the complainant and his colleagues.
The prosecutor said Patrick was wearing civilian attire while Benjamin was in a police uniform and wielding an AK 47 assault rifle.
Assistant State Attorney Awindaogo said Benjamin entered the complainant?s vehicle and ordered him and his colleagues to sit at the back of the vehicle, after which he handcuffed them.
He told the court that the accused person then drove the complainant?s vehicle towards the La area, and took GHc500.00, two mobile phones, and an IPad from the vehicle, after which he ordered the occupants to get down and drove off.
The prosecutor indicated that the accused persons drove past the Osu Advent Press snap checkpoint; not long after, the complainants came in a taxi to the check point and reported the incident to the police.
Assistant State Attorney Awindaogo said the police on duty reported the incident to their control room. The information with the particulars of the vehicle was relayed to all patrol teams and snap checkpoints around.
He told the court that the accused persons, sensing danger, abandoned the complainant?s vehicle at the Osu post office, but Patrick?s mobile phone was found in it.
He said on August 9, 2013, Patrick, upon a tip-off from his wife that policemen had been to the house, called Benjamin to inform him and absconded but Benjamin was invited to the Osu District Police Station on August 3, and a caution statement was taken from him.
