COURT DISCHARGES 17-YEAR-OLD GIRL (PAGE 47)

THE Kumasi High Court, presided over by Justice Imoru Ziblim, has acquitted and discharged a 17-year-old girl who was convicted to serve an 18 month prison term at the Kumasi Central Prisons without an option of a fine.
In his ruling when Elizabeth Dong appeared before him, the judge noted that the whole proceeding, which cumulated in her conviction at the lower court, "was pregnant with procedural irregularities".
He, therefore acquitted and discharged Dong, declaring the case as a nullity.
On behalf of the Attorney General, a Principal State Attorney provided GH¢50 for the ex-convict to enable her to travel to Bolgatanga to unite with her family.
The action of the High Court followed the intervention of the Ashanti Regional Principal State Attorney when the case was cited for adjudication last Friday at the High Court.
Earlier, the Principal State Attorney had told the court that contrary to Section 197 (1) of Act 30, the charge was not read and interpreted to Dong to enable her to defend herself when she appeared before the lower court which tried her.
The plight of the teenager came to light when the Attorney- General and Minister for Justice, Mr Joe Ghartey, paid a familiarisation visit to the Kumasi Central Prison on May 15, 2008.
In the course of the visit, Mr Ghartey came to terms with the massive congestion at the prison where the convict had also been incarcerated.
A Daily Graphic report on Friday, May 16, 2008 headlined, "Justice for All Programme extended to Ashanti", noted that "the Attorney-General was touched when he went to the Female Prison and heard the story of 17-year-old Elizabeth Dong, a native of Bolgatanga, who was convicted to serve 18 months in prison because prosecutors had given her age in court as 19, instead of 17".
At the time of the visit, Dong had served three months because a complainant had accused her of defrauding her of an amount of GH¢30.
Dong told the Attorney General that the complainant in the case had given her goods to sell, in the anticipation that she would be able to reap GH¢70 from the sale but she was able to realise only GH¢40.
She said when the complainant was given the amount, she (the complainant) became angry and accused her of stealing the GH¢30, for which reason she was taken to court and convicted accordingly to serve an 18-month jail term.
Mr Ghartey offered to pay the GH¢30 on behalf of the young girl and assured her that the Justice for all Programme would take up her plight and ensure that she was freed.
When the appellant appeared before the High Court last Friday through the intervention of the Attorney-General, the Principal State Attorney told the court that the accused was illiterate and should have, therefore, been made to understand the charge. But it was neither read nor interpreted to her at the court.
He pointed out that apart from the fact that the charge was not explained to the appellant, "the appellant was not even represented by counsel at the court below".
He further noted that "the age of the appellant was not stated in the facts for the trial judge at the court below to appreciate her age", stressing that the appellant was a juvenile by all standards and should, therefore, be acquitted and discharged.
The judge ordered that the GH¢50 offered by the Attorney-General to pay the fine should be given to the appellant to travel back to Bolgatanga, where she comes from.