2 Social Welfare Officers arrested for stealing a-day-old baby

The Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of the Ashanti Regional Police Command has arrested two officers of the Department of Social Welfare in connection with a baby theft.

The two are 58-year-old Justice Administration Officer, Samuel Obeng Afriyie and a 41-year-old Probation Officer Jemima Alangea.

Both work at the Social Services Department of the Department of Social Welfare.

They are alleged to have stolen a-day-old baby from the biological mother at a private maternity home in Kumasi.

Both suspects have been charged with conspiracy to commit crime and child stealing and have been processed for court.

Narrating what transpired to Prime News Ghana in an interview on Wednesday, the Ashanti Regional Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Juliana Obeng, explained that on April 6, 2018, the police arrested the two suspects, Mr. Obeng Afriyie and Madam Alangea, in their office over the alleged stealing of a female baby.

ASP Obeng noted that the alleged stealing happened on January 11, 2018, at a private maternity home [name withheld] in Kumasi.

She said upon a police investigations, it was revealed that the  complainant in the case, [name withheld] who is unemployed, and a native of Lawra in the Upper West Region, but resides in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region got pregnant somewhere in the year 2017.

The complainant was therefore neglected by her boy friend.

She explained that during her pregnancy, she started soliciting for support to get a place to stay after delivery and she was advised to go to the Social Welfare Department.

She added that on the January 8, 2018, the complainant was directed to the Social Welfare Department office and she met the two officers, Mr. Obeng Afriyie and Madam Alangea.

DSP Obeng added that after the complainant had told them of her case, both Samuel and Jemima gave her a telephone number and instructed her to call anytime she needed help.

“The complainant did as she was instructed by these two suspects and on the  January 11, 2018, at about 8:55am, the complainant called that she was in labour and she had delivered at the said private maternity home”, the PRO added.

She said “the baby was taken to a nearby room at the maternity home and handed over to the suspects by the Midwife of the Home, Madam Grace Osei Afriyie. Few minutes later, Jemima came to tell the complainant that the baby had some rushes on the body and she was taken the child to a nearby hospital. Which hospital she was taken the child to wasn’t known to the complainant”, DSP Obeng noted.

She explained that, “the suspects came back later and said the baby had been taken to the hospital and she has lost the baby”.

The PRO noted that, “so, the complainant told a friend about the incident and the friend advised her to report to the police. So she came to report and the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of the Police begun investigations”.

“Fortunately, we found out that the baby wasn’t sick and was not dead and that, they had given her to a couple in Ghana and taken an amount of GHS16, 500 and shared”, DSP Obeng noted.

She explained that “the couple had gone through the Social Welfare process of adoption and had paid the amount to the two suspects”.

The suspects have been granted bail pending further investigations.

 

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