The woman at the heart of the fake kidnapping and pregnancy case in Takoradi has been fined GH¢7,200 by the Takoradi Circuit Court.
The convict, Josephine Panyin Mensah, who appeared to have been nursing a near-term pregnancy sometime in September 2021, was reported missing after going for a routine dawn walk. A claim that later turned out to be false.
She was slapped with two charges — deceiving a public officer contrary to section 251 (B) of the Criminal Offences Act and publication of false news with intent to cause fear and panic contrary to section 208 (1) of the Criminal Offences Act.
After a full trial, the court presided over by Micheal Kwadwo Ampadu acquitted her of the first charge, thus deceiving a public officer.
According to the judge, the evidence to make the charge stick was absent.
“In establishing the charge of deceiving a public officer, we need to establish that the complainant is a public officer and the one the offence is directed at was a public officer performing or in active duty. Unfortunately, the complainant was the husband of Josephine Panyin Mensah, who is Micheal Simmons and a businessman.
“And it has been clearly established that the complainant is not a public officer as even the police admitted that he is a businessman. And with that, the issue of a public officer and being on active duty cannot be established,” he explained in the ruling.
On the second charge, publication of false news, she was fined GH¢7,200. This was because her test results conducted before her sentencing confirmed that she was now pregnant.
The trial judge stressed that though he wanted to sentence her to the 3-year maximum term to send a strong message to the public, the law also disallows the sentencing of a pregnant woman to prison terms, hence the GH¢7,200 fine.
The court further explained that though the convict did not make the publication, her account to the police led to the publication, which in no doubt caused fear and panic in the country.
He further said that the police, in the first instance, were only acting on a reported case of a missing wife, but the issue later turned into fake pregnancy and kidnapping.
The police, in their evidence, revealed that Mrs Mensah had admitted to faking her pregnancy and kidnap.
“She told the police that she was kidnapped, and when she gained consciousness, she said she saw 12 other pregnant women at the hideout who had all been killed. So, if you have a relative who is pregnant and maybe has travelled, this piece of information will obviously make you panic,” he read in the two-hour judgement.
How it all started
Ms Mensah left home for a dawn walk on Thursday, 16 September 2021, but went missing for days in an alleged kidnapping case that caught the whole country’s attention at a time she claimed she was pregnant.
She was later found at Axim in the Western Region without any sign of a supposed nine-month baby bump, which raised suspicion of false claims.
According to the police, three separate tests revealed that the woman never carried a foetus in her womb.
The law enforcement agency claims that tests at the Takoradi Government Hospital and the Axim Government Hospital were negative.
A medical examination at the Effia Nkwanta Government Hospital also showed no sign of a foetus.
Before the police went public with the information gathered, Western Regional Minister Kwabena Otchere Darko Mensah had also said preliminary investigation proved that Josephine was never pregnant.
“Information available to me from national security and doctors indicates that the’ missing but found woman’ was never pregnant, and there was no mark of assault too on her,” he said.
“The [National Investigations Bureau] sent me a report that she has been found and was receiving treatment at the Axim Government Hospital. However, their preliminary investigation and examination show that she was never pregnant, as has been reported. They suspect that this whole story was fabricated,” he explained.
READ ALSO: Kidnapped Takoradi Woman: ‘We Don’t Trust Doctors At Axim Hospital’ – Family Of Victim
However, the victim’s husband, Michael Simmons, refuted the regional minister’s claims, insisting that his wife was pregnant before her abduction.
“My wife was nine months pregnant, and so she moved in with her mum because her delivery date was due prior to the kidnapping incident. I am very worried about the rumours making rounds, and I want to halt the interview to process my thoughts,” he Accra-based Citi FM.
“We want to remove her from the Axim Hospital [because]we do not trust the doctor. The doctor who said Panyin was not pregnant…[that doctor]has not given birth,” an angry family member said.
According to the family of Ms Mensah, the preliminary medical report that the woman was never pregnant was absurd.
Three suspects, including the mother of the lady, were arrested. They were questioned and released later.
Meanwhile, the police have raised concerns over the worrying trend of fake kidnap.
“More worrying is the fact that for a number of years, the Regional Command has recorded several false kidnapping cases where people conspire to create ‘self-kidnapping’ incidents to make money out of ransoms,” the police said.
The Command noted, “a team with support from the National Headquarters has been put together to quell this emerging crime in the Western Region.”
Additionally, the police have given assurance that they have revised their strategies to ensure enhanced protection of people in the area and the rest of the country.