Two men who allegedly stole the dead body of an old man at the Tarkwa Municipal Hospital mortuary have been granted bail in the sum of 30,000 Ghana cedis each, with two sureties each by a Tarkwa circuit court.
The accused persons, John Asante, 37, a mortuary attendant at the Tarkwa Municipal Hospital and Seth Owusu, 48, fridge mechanic at Atonsu-Bokro, a suburb of Kumasi, a third suspect Efo Kwesi is on the run.
They pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit crime and stealing.
The Prosecution led by Chief Inspector Faustina Celestina Anaman, told the court, presided over by Mr. Emmanuel Bart-Plange Brew, that the complainant is John Kofi Tenge, a farmer and a resident of Wassa Tintinum, near Aboso.
She said on May 22, last year, the complainant’s father, John Kwaku Tenge aged 112 passed away and the family members deposited his body at the Tarkwa Municipal Hospital mortuary for preservation.
According to the records, Inspector Anaman said, the body was given C-217 as its identification number and the complainant paid regular visit to the mortuary to check on it.
The Prosecutor said on November 22, the complainant saw his late father’s body and paid all the bills for it to be prepared for burial slated for November 25.
Chief Inspector Anaman said on November 24 at 1300 hours, the complainant and other family members went to the mortuary to retrieve the body but it was missing.
She said authorities of the hospital were informed immediately and a search was conducted at the mortuary but the body could not found.
Chief Inspector Anaman said the complainant and hospital authorities reported the matter to the Tarkwa Police on the same day and the Police investigators proceeded to the morgue but they could not find the body.
She said the Police then arrested John and five of his colleagues who were workers at the hospital morgue for questioning.
During interrogation, the Prosecutor said John admitted the offense and mention Seth and Efo as his accomplices.
According to Chief Inspector Anaman, John claimed on November 15, 2017, Seth promised to give him an ambulance if he provided him with an old or elderly man’s body.
She said John further stated that on November 24 at 0230hours Seth sent a man with a blue black Pick-Up to collect the body.
Chief Inspector Anaman said Seth was arrested on November 28 at Asafo market in Kumasi and brought to Tarkwa police station to assist in investigations.
She said that the second accused has since denied the offense.
[email protected] 
(Selorm) | 
(Nana Kwesi)