Two prison officers have been brought before an Accra Circuit Court, accused of aiding the escape of Wang Xiao, a Chinese inmate at the Nsawam Medium Prison.
Wang Xiao, who was serving a one-year jail term for theft was reported to have escaped while receiving medical care at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra last month.
But authorities have said that claim was only a lie. Two prison officers, who were assigned to the Chinese inmate, Joseph Oteng and Sergeant Isaac Boateng Bonsu are facing charges of conspiracy and assisting escape.
Initially, they claimed Xiao escaped after being approached by a car outside the Korle Bu hospital. However, CCTV footage from a hotel revealed a different story.
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The footage showed Oteng and Bonsu escorting Xiao to a hotel room to meet his wife, where they allegedly escaped via the balcony while the officers remained in the reception area.
Both officers pleaded not guilty when arraigned and were granted bail of GhC100,000 each, to reappear in court on April 9, 2024.
According to the prosecution’s narration, the officers, assigned to escort Xiao to the hospital for treatment, agreed to accompany him to a hotel to meet his wife in exchange for a reward.
“After removing Xiao’s handcuffs, they took him to the hotel, where his wife offered them food and drink. Upon realizing Xiao and his wife had fled, the officers hid the handcuffs and falsely reported the escape to their superiors,” the court heard.
The prosecution highlighted how the accused misled their superiors and the police, leading to an investigation that uncovered the truth through CCTV evidence from the hotel.