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A private legal practitioner, Dr. Maurice Ampaw, has stated that 28-year old woman who was arrested and arraigned before court for faking pregnancy and kidnapping, pleaded not guilty for strategic reasons.
Speaking on Angel FM’s Anopa Bↄfoↄ morning show, he explained that the decision taken by the Council for the accused−Josephine Panyin Mensah−was to enable the court delve into the offences on which she was being prosecuted.
“The defendant is able to receive charge sheets which indicates what crimes she is being prosecuted for; witness statement which is the evidence that the police will be depending on for their prosecution.
“They also have access to the confession statement to find out things she said, and to determine what condition under which the accused person confessed−whether she confessed under duress, if she was even slapped in the face to do so.
“Maybe at the time when she was confessing there were no independent bodies there or because she does not understand English, a police officer wrote the statement on her behalf”, said the lawyer Ampaw.
He noted further that with the above made available to the Council for the defendant, her lawyers are able to raise doubts about the prosecution statement by the plaintiff−the police.
He said however that should she plead guilty, the docket would have closed and no one would be able to defend her except plead for mercy, if true that she was not guilty of the offences she has been charged with.
Brief background
On September 27, 2021, Josephine was prosecuted at a Takoradi Circuit Court in the Western Region, where she pleaded not guilty for faking pregnancy and kidnapping.
In a report issued earlier by the Ghana Police Service, she was said to have confessed to faking her pregnancy and kidnapping after she was subjected to further investigation.
The married woman was then arraigned on Monday at the court where she was charged with deceit of public and publication of false news to put fears in the public.
Meanwhile, she has been granted bail in the sum of GH₵50,000.00 though the bail terms of two sureties are yet to be met.
