Gospel Musician, Perpetual Didier, has rejected the post-mortem examination results that stated that the cause of her brother’s death was asphyxiation and airway obstruction by a foreign body identified as cannabis.
According to her, the police may have planted a black polythene bag in the throat of his brother, Shadrach Arloo, before the pathologist conducted the post-mortem.
The police, in a statement on Tuesday, February 7, disclosed that following a post-mortem examination conducted on the body in the presence of the bereaved family and their lawyer Francis-Xavier Sosu and some relatives of the accused, the cause of death was given as asphyxiation and obstruction of the airway by a foreign body.
“The pathologist gave the verbal cause of death as asphyxiation and obstruction of airway by a foreign body. He also retrieved from the throat of the deceased, eight (8) zipped bags containing dry leaves suspected to be narcotic drugs tied in a piece of black polythene. The retrieved suspected narcotic substances tested positive for cannabis when submitted for forensic examination, in the presence of all the interested parties,” a statement signed by Grace Ansah- Akrofi, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Director of Public Affairs, read.
However, Perpetual Didier rejected the report and accused the police of attempting to conceal the truth.
“If they are saying they have done investigations and that he swallowed weed which is wrapped in rubber and they found eight folded weed inside, I want to ask Ghanaians, is weed okro? Can someone swallow weed with ease? Have they given us footage of the time he swallowed the weed?” She retorted in an interview on JoyNews.
According to the musician, attempts to get a medical doctor to represent them during the post-mortem proved futile as the police hurriedly facilitated the process before the scheduled time.
“When we went to the morgue together with two MPs, they wanted to start the autopsy, and I told them that we needed a medical doctor, so they should give us a chance to find one, which of course, we got one who is out of Accra. He gave us his colleague, who begged us to tell the police to allow him to come today (Wednesday).
“Because they didn’t wait for our doctor to come inside the room, I will not accept. My family, too, says they will not accept whatever they are telling us,” She said.
She added that “the police did not include how he was brutalised in their statement, which means they have swept away everything. They are indicating that it is only the weed that caused his death. It could be that when they took the body to the police morgue, somebody planted the weed inside his throat. They should provide how he was swallowing it.”
Background
Shadrach Arloo, 32, had died at the West Hills mall following an altercation with private security guards and a police officer who were trying to search his bag.
He was allegedly beaten and teased to death by one of the said men when he resisted their advances, according to some eyewitnesses.