Marwako supervisor remanded
Jihad Chaaban, the supervisor at Marwako Restaurant, who allegedly dipped the face of a female worker into pepper, was yesterday remanded by the Abeka District Court. Chaaban is facing three counts of causing harm, assault and offensive conduct to which he pleaded not guilty.
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Counsel for the accused had pleaded for bail but the court, presided over by Ms Victoria Akua Ghansah, refused to grant the request.
According to the court, the accused must be remanded in police custody for his own protection.
He would reappear on March 16, 2017.
Ghanaian
The refusal of the court to grant Chaaban bail followed arguments by the prosecution and the defence counsel.
Counsel for the accused person, Mr Augustine Asarfo-Adjei, prayed the court to grant his client bail because the accused was a Ghanaian with a fixed place of abode in the country.
He stressed that Chaaban was not guilty and he would present his defence at the appropriate time.
“My client did not do what he is being accused to have done,” he said.
At that point, the presiding magistrate cautioned counsel not to go into the merit of the case because the time was not ripe for that.
Mr Adjei then shifted gear and argued that the charges levelled against his client were bailable and as such the court had the discretion to grant bail.
Interference
The prayer for bail by Mr Adjei was vehemently opposed by the prosecutor, Chief Inspector Hoyt H. Armah, who argued that Chaaban would interfere with further investigations if granted bail.
“The accused person is a manager at the restaurant and would preside over some of the witnesses who work at the restaurant. I fear that he will compromise some of the witnesses,” the prosecution argued.
Mr Adjei, however, reminded the prosecutor that his client had already been suspended by management of the restaurant and was “billed for disciplinary action instituted by the management of the company.”
Confusion galore
Following the argument put up by the prosecution, the court invited the investigator handling the case to confirm to the court whether Chaaban was in any way interfering with investigations.
The investigator, however, denied that Chaaban was interfering with the case to the disgust of the prosecution.
Chief Inspector Armah then invited the Tesano District Police Commander, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mr Edward Tetteh, to confirm that Chaaban was interfering with the investigations.
DSP Tetteh told the court that he believed it would be too early on the basis of Chaaban’s safety for him to be granted bail.
“There is a lot of tension associated with this case and I would appeal to the court to remand the accused person for his own safety,” he said.
Facts
Chief Inspector Armah told the court that Chaaban is the branch manager of the Abelemkpe branch of Marwako Restaurant while the complainant, Evelyn Boakye, worked at the rice department of the restaurant.
On February 26, 2017, the prosecution said Evelyn was instructed by her supervisor to assist in the vegetable department by blending fresh pepper.
As she was performing the task, Chaaban entered the room with rage and shouted at Evelyn, demanding to know who gave her the authority to use the blender.
“Chaaban became offended, started insulting Evelyn and called her a prostitute. Not satisfied, he held her head and forced it into the blended pepper, which splashed into her face and eyes,” the prosecution said.
Evelyn, he said, became helpless and was assisted by some other workers of the restaurant to go home.
The prosecutoion said on February 28, the condition of Evelyn deteriorated and she reported the matter to the Tesano Police Command.
