BY: News Desk | Voltaonlinegh.com |
A suspect in a murder trial at the Sogakofe High Court is said to be in a stable condition now at the Sacred Heart Catholic Hospital at Abor in the Keta municipality, after he reportedly cut off his manhood in a suicide attempt while in temporary custody at the Abor Police station.
The incident which occurred last Sunday nearly sent the 35-year-old Thomas Agbezuke to early graves if not for the timely response of the officers on duty at the time, one of whom was on routine monitoring of the cells and came across the suspect in a pool of blood.
According to a  leaked Police Situational Report (sitrep) sighted by Volta Online,  the incident occurred at about 11:00pm that fateful day when G/Cpl Emmanuel Kyei was going round to undertake routine checks on inmates in the cell.
Corporal Prince Dogbatse, Public Relations officer of the Volta Regional Police Command confirmed the incident and said, the suspect upon questioning later revealed that he use a piece tile which he managed to break off  the  floor tile of the cell for the act while the other inmates were asleep.
He however said the suspect was responding to treatment at hospital, adding that, a second charge of an attempted suicide would be leveled against him in addition his substantive case of attempted murder.
The Police spokesperson noted that the incident was an isolated one, as he assured that Police cells in the region remain safe for inmates, while all Police stations have been directed to heighten their alertness while other arrangements are employed to ensure safety and welfare of persons in their custody.
Background
Suspect Thomas Agbeuke, a native of Afife in the Ketu North municipality was originally being held at the Ho Central Prison on remand after he was charged with attempted murder of his own relative, one Francis Agbezuke as far back as May 17, 2017, thus three years ago.
According to Police information, Thomas had stabbed Francis who is believed to be his cousin in the stomach such that his intestines were gushing out. The suspect was then arrested by his own father and another relative, who handed him over to the Police. Â Francis has however survived the attack and is still alive and well.
The case has since been going through committal processes at the Sogakofe High Court while he was held in Prison custody at the Ho Central Prisons.
His last appearance before the court was on May 22, 2020 where the case was adjourned to July 1, 2020 when trial is expected to commence.
However due to the reviewed protocols at the Ho central prison on the back of the COVID-19 pandemic, Thomas could not be taken back into custody until he had been tested for virus and results proven negative.
This led to him being sent to the Abor Police station where the COVID-19 task force was contacted to take his samples for subsequent testing.
It was as a result of this temporary arrangement to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the prisons that gave the leeway to the suspect to have attempted taking his own life by using a piece of broken tile floor to cut his manhood.
Source: www.voltaonlinegh.com
