?Woman Fakes Pregnancy With Rags, Attempts Stealing Baby

By Castro Zangina-Tong

A 37-year old mother of one, who stuffed her belly with rags for nine months to deceive her cohabiter that she was pregnant, did the unimaginable.

Madam Cynthia Boateng asked a friend to steal a two- week-old baby for her to enable her to remove the rags and convince her lover that she had given birth to a baby for him.

The woman who was arrested by the police and put before the Accra Circuit Court "5" has been granted GH? 10.000.00 bail with two sureties for allegedly attempting to steal a two-week-old baby.

The accused, Madam Cynthia Boateng also known as Joyce, a second hand clothes seller has been charged with preparations to commit a crime to wit "child stealing".

According to prosecution, the accused prepared to connive with Ms Jemima Attoh also called Dede on May 9, 2019, at about 9am to steal a two-week-old baby girl at Odorkor Twemaami in Accra.

She, however, denied any wrongdoing when she was put before the court last Thursday and the presiding judge, Mrs Rita Abrokwah Doko, granted her GH?10,000.00 bail with two sureties to appear again on June 6, 2019, for continuation of the case.

Presenting the facts, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Madam Agnes Boafo said that the complainant, Mr Michael Quaye, 38, lived in the same area with her cousin, Jemima Attoh, at Odorkor Twemaami whilst the accused also lived at Fanmilk at Ablekuma, a suburb of Accra , with her cohabiter for three years now.

She said that in the latter part of April this year, Jemima bought second-hand clothes from Madam Cynthia (accused) at Twemaami and they later became friends.

According to Jemima, she detected that her friend (accused) had a protruding stomach which she thought was a pregnancy until the accused expressed interest in a two-week-old baby girl in Jemima's house.

The prosecutor said that out of curiosity, Jemima asked the accused, "You are pregnant and you will also give birth so why that interest in the two-week-old baby girl?"

DSP Boafo said that the question then compelled Cynthia Boateng to disclose to her friend that "she was not pregnant, rather, she had stuffed her belly with rags for the past nine months to deceive her cohabiter that she was pregnant and that she was in need of a baby to enable her to remove the rags".

She said in view of that, the accused gave Jemima a mobile phone in May 2019, and they had ever since been communicating with each other as friends.

She said that on May 8, 2019, at about 4pm Madam Cynthia told her friend, Jemima Attoh, to steal the baby and bring it to her with the explanation that it was because of the baby she gave her the mobile phone.

DSP Boafo said that the accused further promised to give Jemima GH?500.00 and a half- piece of cloth if she (Jemima) was able to steal the baby for her on May 9, 2019, at about 10am.

According to the prosecutor, Jemima intentionally asked Madam Cynthia to come for the baby on May 9, 2019, as planned but she quickly alerted Mr Quaye (complainant) who arrested the accused when she truly went to her friend to collect the baby.

She said that the accused gave them (Jemima and Quaye) GH? 40.00 to bail herself out but they called a taxi driver to take them to Oman FM, an Accra-based private radio station instead of going to the Odorkor Police Station with her.

The prosecutor said that the officials of the radio station reported the case to the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service at Madina on May 9, 2019, for her arrest and after investigation, the case was transferred to DOVVSU at Odorkor to take the necessary action with regard to the offence.

The case has been adjourned to June 6, 2019.

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