Labourer Sentenced to Five Years for Cutlass Attack on Businessman.

Accra: A 24-year-old laborer, Benjamin Kwabena Fiagbodze, who inflicted cutlass wounds on the head of a businessman at Tse Addo in Accra, has been sentenced to five years in prison by an Accra Circuit Court. Fiagbodze pleaded not guilty to the charge of causing harm. However, after a trial, the court, presided over by Mr. Isaac Addo, found him guilty and imposed the sentence.According to Ghana News Agency, during the trial, the accused admitted to the court that his intent was to kill the complainant, not just to injure him. The prosecution, led by Chief Inspector Jonas Lawer, stated that the complainant, Laryea Larkwei, is a businessman residing at Teshie Camp 2, while Fiagbodze lived at Tse Addo, La.Chief Inspector Lawer explained that in 2020, Larkwei hired one Osei Yaw to oversee his five-bedroom uncompleted building located at Tse Addo. The caretaker subsequently brought Fiagbodze to live with him at the site. On September 4, 2024, at about 1300 hours, Larkwei visited the site and asked Fiagbodze to grind pepper for him which he obliged.The court heard that while taking his meal and without provocation, Fiagbodze, armed with a cutlass, pounced on him and inflicted wounds on his scalp. The prosecution stated that Larkwei sustained a deep cut to his forehead and bled profusely as a result of the attack.According to the prosecution, Larkwei reported the incident to the police, who issued him a medical form to seek treatment. After receiving medical attention, Larkwei submitted a medical report, which was endorsed by a medical officer at LEKMA Hospital. Fiagbodze was apprehended, and in his caution statement to the police, admitted to the offense. The police also recovered the cutlass used in the attack from the crime scene.