Two teachers jailed six years each for forging Judicial Service receipt

Two teachers, who forged Judicial Service official receipts, have been sentenced to six years imprisonment each by an Accra Circuit Court.

Lordfred Heward Mills, the main architect of the crime was jailed in absentia while Lawrence Ansu Asante, the second accused person, was escorted by the Police to jail.

This was after the court presided over by Mrs Afia Owusua Appiah found them guilty on the charges of conspiracy to wit uttering of forged documents and uttering forged documents at the end of the trial.

The prosecution, led by Inspector Wisdom Alorwu, told the court that the complainant Eric Ansah Agyei, was a Pastor and a resident of Aburi.

It said Mills resided at Bubuashie and Asante, a resident of JamesTown, and that they were sureties in the case of Republic verses Jeffery Wilson Ofori, which was pending before Circuit Court four, then presided over by Mr Emmanuel Essandoh, now deceased.

The court heard that in June 2021, the complainant gave GHC3,500 to the accused persons, now convicts, to be paid on behalf of Jeffery Wilson Ofori, who was an accused person in a case.

The prosecution said the accused persons (convicts) then hatched a plan to forge an official Judicial Service receipt and failed to pay the money to the court.

It said the convicts then contacted one Boakye Boateng, who got them forged Judicial Service official receipts.

It said the convicts later submitted a Judicial Service official receipt with the number 19/0263336 dated June 11, 2021, with a face value of GHC3,500.

The prosecution said they then handed over the receipt to the prosecutor, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Rita Asaah.

On November 23, 2021, the prosecutor presented the said receipt to the court, but it was rejected, with the judge ordering for the arrest of the convicts.

They were consequently escorted to the community 18 Police Station where they were detained for further investigations.

The prosecution said Mills mentioned one Boakye Boateng now at large as the one who issued them with the receipts at a fee of GHC500. It said the remaining GHC3,000 was shared between the convicts. In their caution statements, the convicts admitted the offences before an independent witness.