ERIC ASANTE vs. THE REPUBLIC [2017]DLSC2511

Date	2017-01-26
Suit No.	CIVIL APPEAL NO. J3/7/2013
Citation No.	[2017]DLSC2511

ANIM YEBOAH JSC [PRESIDING]

BAFFOE BONNIE JSC

GBADEGBE JSC

APPAU JSC

PWAMANG JSC.

KWAME BONI WITH HIM FRANCIS-XAVIER KOJO SOSU ESQ FOR THE APPELLANT.

K. ASIAMAH SAMPPONG ESQ (CHIEF STATE ATTORNEY) FOR THE REPUBLIC.

[2017]DLSC2511
																																						<div class="restriction-wrapper">
														<div class="container-lg">
															<div class="row">
																<div class="col-md-12 restricted-content">
																	<div class="restricted-content-img-wrapper">
																		<div class="lock-icon bounce-7">
																			<img class=""
																				src="https://www.dennislawgh.com/dl-assets/dl-images/lock-content.png"
																				alt="Subscription based content">
																		</div>
																	</div>
																	 
																		<a href="https://www.dennislawgh.com/login"
																		class="btn btn-primary btn-lg"
																		style="font-family: 'open sans'; text-transform: capitalize; border-radius: 8px"> 
																		Login to Read Full Case </a>
																	 
																	
																</div>
															</div>
														</div>
													</div>
													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >ERIC ASANTE<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>THE REPUBLIC<o:p></o:p>[SUPREME COURT, ACCRA]<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">

CIVIL APPEAL NO. J3/7/2013&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
DATE: 26TH JANUARY, 2017<o:p></o:p>

</div>COUNSEL:&nbsp;&nbsp; <o:p></o:p>KWAME
BONI WITH HIM FRANCIS-XAVIER KOJO SOSU ESQ FOR THE APPELLANT.<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">

K.
ASIAMAH SAMPPONG ESQ (CHIEF STATE ATTORNEY) FOR THE REPUBLIC.<o:p></o:p>

</div>CORAM: <o:p></o:p>ANIM
YEBOAH, JSC [PRESIDING] BAFFOE
BONNIE, JSC. GBADEGBE, JSC. APPAU,
JSC. AND PWAMANG,
JSC.<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border-top:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
border-left:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;border-right:none;
padding:1.0pt 0in 1.0pt 0in">

<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center;border:none;
mso-border-top-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 0in 1.0pt 0in">JUDGEMENT<o:p></o:p>

</div>PWAMANG,
JSC.<o:p></o:p>On 5th September, 2005 the
Appellant was convicted by the High Court, Tamale of &nbsp;Defilement contrary to Section 101 (2) of the
Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29) as Amended by the Criminal Offences
(Amendment) Act, 1998, Act 554 and sentenced to 15 years with Hard Labour. He
was aggrieved by the judgment so he appealed against his conviction and
sentence but the Court of Appeal by a unanimous decision dated 6th
April, 2006 dismissed the appeal. On 17th July, 2012 this court
granted leave to appellant to appeal against the judgment of the Court of
Appeal and he filed the pursuant Notice of Appeal on 25th July,
2012. <o:p></o:p>The case against appellant
was that on or about 12th November, 2003, while teaching Agricultural
Science at Nyohini Presbyterian Junior Secondary School (JSS) at Tamale, he
carnally knew a pupil of the school aged 14 years. At that time the victim was
living with her auntie and her auntie’s husband at Nyohini, a suburb of Tamale.
The victim’s biological mother lived in the same area. The auntie and her
husband were also elementary school teachers at Nyohini but not in the same
school as the appellant and the victim. According the husband of the victim’s
auntie, who is the complainant in the case, on 12th November, 2003
the victim complained to him of pains in her body and head so he asked her to
attend hospital the next day. Then the next day, that is 13th
November 2003, he the complainant returned from school and met the victim alone
in the house writing a love letter addressed to one Mr. Eric so he seized it
and read. In the letter the victim stated that she met the Mr. Eric the
previous day and gave him what he wanted. She thanked him for the money he gave
her. She expressed her love for him and explained that she could not visit him
that day as planned because she was unwell.<o:p></o:p>The complainant brought
the contents of the letter to the attention of his wife and the victim’s mother
and together they questioned the victim as to who the Mr. Eric was and what she
had doing with him. She told them Mr. Eric was a teacher in her school and her
boyfriend so they demanded that she took them to him. She led them to the house
where the Appellant was staying which is also at Nyohini. They met with the
appellant in his room and accused him of having sexual relations with their
daughter but he denied it completely wherefore they exchanged words with him
and left. On 14th November, 2003 complainant made a report of
defilement against the appellant to the Women and Juvenile Unit (WAJU) of Tamale
Police and they issued a medical form to the victim to attend Tamale Teaching
Hospital for examination. At the hospital the medical officer who attended to
the victim interviewed her and she stated that the appellant was her boyfriend
with whom she had sexual intercourse on several occasions, the last being on 12th
November, 2003. It would appear that the doctor suspected pregnancy so he made
her to do a scan and it came out that she was 23 weeks pregnant at the time. She
attributed the pregnancy to the Appellant.<o:p></o:p>Appellant was therefore
arrested by the police, charged with defilement and prosecuted by the Attorney
General’s Office at Tamale. It was a summary trial in which the prosecution
called five witnesses including the investigator and the Appellant testified on
oath without calling any witness. He maintained his innocence through out but
finally he was convicted. In this final appeal the appellant has stated six
Grounds of Appeal and they are as follows;<o:p></o:p>i.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
The Court of Appeal erred by confirming the
Judgment of the Trial Court in spite of the fact that the Judgment is against
the overwhelming evidence on the record.<o:p></o:p>