Three grabbed over murder of Chinese national

The police have arrested and arraigned a 37-year-old driver, Jacob Kwesi Acquah, for allegedly killing a Chinese national, Xiong Yin, in cold blood at Dansoman, Accra.

Acquah, a former employee of the deceased, is said to have gone to her house to demand the phone number of her house help.

When Xiong proceeded to her bedroom to get the phone number for Acquah, he followed her, pushed her onto the bed, and strangled her with a pillow, allegedly.

Acquah was also said to have smashed the deceased’s head, several times, on the floor and on a metallic sliding door.

He also used the metal part of a shower handle to strike her several times, allegedly.

Two other accomplices, Faustina Otimah, a 21-year-old house help, and Memunatu Allotey, a trader, alleged to have facilitated the murder by assisting Acquah, also appeared before the Kaneshie District Court.

They are being held for abetment of crime to wit murder.

The court presided over by Ms. Ama Adomako Kwakye, reserved their plea, and remanded them into police custody to reappear on June 15.

Narrating the facts of the case, Inspector Apewa Achana said the complainant, Lin Youji, a Chinese national, was residing at Dansoman Exhibition in Accra.

Acquah resided at Chorkor-Santana and Otimah, the house help of the deceased, resided at Mpoase, while Memunatu was the girlfriend of Acquah.

The prosecution said about seven months ago, Acquah was dismissed by the complainant for misconducting himself, but Acquah had been in touch with Otimah.

On May 10, 2022, Acquah called Otimah and asked her to alert him to the activities of the deceased and her fellow workers, especially when Xiong (deceased) was left alone in the house and that she should leave the small gate unlocked when leaving the house.

The prosecution said Acquah called Otimah 12 times between 9 am and 11 am on May 10 to find out whether Xiong was alone in the house.

It said Acquah convinced Otimah to leave the house without informing the deceased and she (Otimah) complied.

Acquah took advantage of the unlocked gate, entered the compound of Xiong and met her in the living room, and pretended he needed the contact of Otimah.

The prosecutor said Xiong innocently left Acquah in the corridor and walked towards her bedroom to pick up her phone to get him the number he demanded.

Acquah followed Xiong and attacked her, pushed her onto her bed, covered her face with a pillow, and strangled her, the prosecution said.

On seeing that Xiong was weak, he lifted her and sent her to the bathroom and hit her head on the metallic part of the sliding door and against the floor.

The prosecution said Acquah further used the metal part of the hand shower to hit her head several times, causing her to bleed.

Acquah, after killing her, went to the living room where a CCTV camera was fixed, removed it from the ceiling, and dumped it in a water closet with the intention of erasing any trace of evidence that might implicate him.

The complainant went to the house after several calls to the deceased went unanswered, the prosecution said.

To his surprise, he found both the small gate and main door to the various rooms unlocked.

He rushed to open the deceased’s door and found it locked with the key in front.

When the complainant opened the door, he found the room ransacked, so he proceeded to the deceased’s bathroom where he found her lying in a pool of blood in a supine position.

The prosecution said the complainant quickly rushed to the gate and alerted one Emmanuel Aziati about what he had seen, and both went to observe the body and went to report it to the police.

It said the police went to the scene, took pictures, and conveyed the body to the Police Hospital Morgue.

On the dawn of May 12, the police had information that Acquah was hiding in the house of Memunatu and they proceeded to the place but Memunatu kept Acquah in her room and led the police to a different location.

The police retrieved the memory card of the CCTV Camera where Acquah was seen in the footage entering the living room of the deceased, the prosecution said.