Takoradi fake pregnant woman fined GHc 7,200

Takoradi fake pregnant woman fined GHc 7,200

Josephine Panyin Mensah, who was accused of staging her kidnapping and fabricating a pregnancy, was fined GHc7,200 by the Takoradi District Court in the Western Region, presided over by His Worship Michael Ampadu, for publishing false information to spread fear and terror.

Although Josephine Panyin Mensah did not make the publication, her report to the police did result in the publishing, which “in no doubt generated terror and panic throughout the country,” according to presiding judge Michael Ampadu, who took more than two hours to read out his decision.

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He continued by saying that initially, the police had just been called to a reported case of a missing wife, but that after they had located Josephine Panyin Mensah, who had acknowledged the fake pregnancy in a cautionary statement to them, the case had evolved into an abduction.

“She told the police that she had been taken hostage and that, upon regaining consciousness, she had discovered the bodies of 12 other pregnant women who had all been slaughtered. Therefore, if you have a relative who is pregnant and may have traveled, hearing this piece of information will likely cause you to panic, he emphasized.

Judge Michael Ampadu decided on a fine of 600 penalty units even though the count of posting false news to provoke fear and terror carries a three-year maximum sentence since Josephine Panyin Mensah is expecting a child.

The court ruled Josephine Panyin Mensah not guilty on the first count of defrauding a public official because, in the opinion of the presiding judge, the elements required to support the accusation were missing.