A 30year-old unemployed, who stole a doctor’s surgical robe, wore it, posed as a health personnel and duped unsuspecting patients, has been sentenced to 12 months imprisonment in hard labour by the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly Circuit Court.
Edward Lawson pleaded guilty to the charge and was convicted on his plea by the court presided by Abdul Razak Musah.
Lawson stole the robe, which was on a drying line, belonging to Dr Yaw Opare Larbi, a medical practitioner at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) Polyclinic, after he (Lawson) was discharged from the facility.
He wore the robe, posed as a health practitioner at the Kumasi South Hospital at AtonsuAgogo in Kumasi, and extorted GH¢50.00 each from three patients, under the pretext of helping them to obtain faster X ray report, requested by medical officers, attending to the patients.
Prosecuting, Police Inspector Michael Koole told the court that the complainant in the case, is an estate officer of the Kumasi South Hospital.
The court heard that on November 30, last year, a few days after convict had been discharged from the hospital, a security personnel saw him (convict) removing the robe from the drying line at the premises of hospital, and reported the matter to the complainant.
Prosecution said the convict was arrested when the complainant reported the incident to the Asokwa Police station.
Insp Koole said the convict confessed to the offence during police investigations.
