A 30-year old man, who allegedly paraded himself as a medical doctor, has been arraigned before the circuit court, in Accra, for defrauding three woman in an alleged romance scam.
Fredrick Papa Kow-Assifuah, a trader, resident in Kasoa in the Central Region, is alleged to have demanded various sums of money from his victims under the disguise of securing visas to various foreign countries for them, after being intimate with them.
Kow-Assifuah appeared before the Circuit Court on Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to charges including willfully and falsely using the title Dr. contrary to section 48(b) of the health professions and regulatory bodies Act 2013, Act 857 among other changes.
He has been granted bail in the sum of hundred thousand Ghana cedis with two sureties, to be justified with landed property with title certificates.
The complainants (names withheld) in this case are three women who are Ghanaian citizens. Accused person Fredrick Papa Kow Assifuah, also is a Ghanaian, and a resident of Kasoa Crispo City in the Central region.
The National Police Intelligence Directorate intercepted, an intelligence about the accuser, posing as a medical doctor online to lure unsuspecting women, with whom he purportedly had intimate relationship, following which he took monies from them under the pretext of securing travelling documents for them to travel abroad.
The facts are that, On June 6, Kow-Assifuah, was arrested at his hideout at Kasoa Crispo city where he planned a meeting with another victim. Per the facts the accused was dressed in a white lab coat, with stethoscopes around his neck professing to be a medical doctor.
After his arrest, he, led the Police to his house where a search was conducted. During the the search in his room a pair of scissors, three drips, five syringes, two sample bottles, one plaster, five bottles of canine distemper adenovirus type 2 parainfluenza parvovirus vaccines, one Ghanaian passport bearing the name of one the Complainants, and an amount of GHC8,500.00 were retrieved for preservation as evidence.
During interrogation, Ekow-Assafuah, allegedly confirmed he demanded and received a total sum of thirty five thousand, five hundred Ghana cedis from the three complainants respectively under the pretext of securing travelling visa to Europe and America but failed to deliver on his promise.
Investigationfurther revealed that Fredrick Papa Kow Assifuah collected GHC18,500.00 from a male victim, again, promising to get him visa to travel to France but failed to do so. Investigations again revealed that another female victim, was also promised a visa to France after paying the sum of GHC1,500.00.
Papa Kow-Assifuah, is facing one count of willfully and falsely adding the title Dr. to his name implying a qualification to practice medicine wthout authority, and one count of Professing to practice medicine without being registered contrary to provisions of the health professions and regulatory bodies Act 2013, Act 857.
He is also charged with one count of defrauding by false pretense for representing himself as a medical Doctor by procuring for himself a white lab coat and two stethoscopes with the intent to deceive the general public, and five other counts of defrauding by false pretense by allegedly obtaining the consent of the victims by means of certain false pretences and falsely pretending that, if the said amounts were given to him, he could secure visas for them to enable them travel to foreign destinations of their choice and upon such false representations, succeeded in obtaining the said amounts from the victims, a statement he allegedly knew at the time of making it to be false, contrary to provisions of the Criminal Offenses Act 1960.
