Hairdresser, electrician fined Ghc4,800 each over illegal abortion

The Assin Fosu Magistrate Court has sentenced a 40-year-old hairdresser and a 21-year-old auto electrician, to a fine of Gh¢4,800 each for inducing a 17-year-old girl to commit illegal abortion.

The convict, Charlotte Asiedu, who administered a concoction to the girl, was charged with the offence of committing illegal abortion whilst Tetteh, the victim’s boyfriend, was charged with abetment of crime.

They both pleaded guilty to the charges before the court presided over by Mr Abdul Majid Iliasu.

Prosecuting, Inspector Matilda Osaah Buabeng said Victoria Arthur, a trader and the victim’s mother, is the complainant who resides in Assin Fosu.

The Prosecutor said the victim, a Senior High School form three student, noticed she was 17 weeks pregnant whilst in school.

He said the victim during her vacation from school, informed Tetteh about her condition, but he advised her to notify her mother, but out of fear, she refused.

Instead, the Prosecutor said the girl demanded Gh¢200 from Tetteh to buy some drugs at a pharmacy shop, but the pharmacist refused to sell those medicines to them with the reason that the pregnancy had advanced.

The Prosecutor said Tetteh discussed his ordeal with a friend who recommended Asiedu and she gladly accepted the offer and prepared a concoction worth Gh¢200 for them.

The Prosecutor said shortly after the victim took the concoction, she started experiencing severe stomach pains and was rushed to the St Francis Xavier Hospital in Assin Fosu for treatment.

The Prosecutor said the victim was put under forced labour after an examination revealed the fetus had died.

Subsequently, an official complaint was made by Ms Arthur to the Police and the convicts were subsequently arrested and charged.

Currently, the victim’s education has been truncated to enable her to undergo two major surgeries for survival, according to a medical report seen by the Ghana News Agency.