Court asks for report on Obengfo's health condition

An Accra District Court has ordered the Medical Director in-charge of the Greater Accra Regional Hospital [Ridge Hospital] to produce a comprehensive medical report on Dr Dominc Obeng-Andoh, the Director of the Advanced Body Sculpt Centre (Obengfo Hospital).

This is to enable the court to determine whether Dr Obeng-Andoh was faking sickness as alleged by the prosecution following the charge of murder against him.

The court said the medical director’s report should specifically disclose the progress made by Dr Obeng-Andoh from May 29, 2018, the day he was admitted at the hospital till date.

The medical director is expected to produce the report at the next hearing of the case on June 19, 2018.

The court’s order came after the prosecution informed it that the accused had “woefully refused” to appear before the court, hiding under the cover of accessing health care at the Ridge Hospital.

The prosecution, therefore, prayed the court to order the medical director of Ridge Hospital to appear before the court to provide it with medical report of Dr Obeng-Andoh who has been charged with murder.

He is also facing another charge of practising medicine without licence and operating an unlicensed medical facility. He has been granted bail on that particular case but remains in police custody on the charge of murder.

Because, he is not well, he has been on admission at the Ridge Hospital since his arrest.

Read also: Obengfo granted bail for no license case but still in custody for murder charge

‘Under cover of admission’

In court on Tuesday, the prosecutor, Chief Inspector Simon Apiorsornu, said when the investigator handling the case went to the hospital, the accused told him that he cannot come to court because he was unwell.   

The investigator, he said, then went to the see the administrator and the medical director both of whom confirmed that the accused was not sick and was “only hiding under the cover of admission.”

The prosecutor, who argued that the accused was facing a similar charge at the Circuit Court where he was using the same modus to claim that he was unfit to stand trial, produced a letter to confirm that the accused was fit to stand trial.

“As we stand now, no sickness has been diagnosed to show that the accused cannot stand on his feet to stand trial,” the prosecutor told the court, presided over by Ms Efua Sackey.

Read also: Court orders hospital to produce Obengfo to stand trial

No medical record

Chief Inspector Apiorsornu added that if Dr Obeng-Andoh should be on admission, he should rather be admitted to the Police Hospital where there were specialists to take care of him.

“We want to put on record that the accused has been on admission at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital since his admission and there is no medical record to show that he cannot stand trial,” he said.

He, therefore, prayed the court to issue an order to the Medical Director of the hospital to appear before the court to furnish it with details of the accused’s health condition.

He informed the court that while police investigations were ongoing, an autopsy would be conducted today [Tuesday] on the body of the Ms Stacy Offei Darko, a Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the National Entrepreneurship Innovation Plan (NEIP) who died at the Obengfo Hospital.

Read also: Obengfo boss charged with operating without licence

Deteriorating condition

Counsel for the accused, Mr Jonathan Dziasu told the court that the prosecution had misinformed the court that his client was fit to stand trial when the medical director of the Ridge Hospital had allowed the accused to be admitted at the facility.

According to him, he went to the hospital to see his client to prepare him for court Tuesday but was only allowed to meet the accused for five minutes after specialists had attended to him.

He said he told the leader of the team to do their best to ensure his client would appear before the court Tuesday but the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) informed him (counsel) that Dr Obeng-Andoh’s condition had “deteriorated.”  

“Once my client is certified to be fit, we will make him available to stand trial,” he assured the court, saying the defence team was ready to cooperate with police investigation.

Read also: Dr Obengfo remanded by court for NEIP Deputy CEO's death

No licence

According to the facts of the case, in July 2015, investigations by the Medical and Dental Council (MDC) revealed that Dr Obeng-Andoh had failed to renew his annual registration to practise since 2013.

The council, after further investigations, reported the matter to the police, and on December 20, 2016 the police went to the Obengfo Hospital to arrest Dr Obeng-Andoh.

“The police met him in the process of performing certain medical procedures on someone.

According to the police, further investigations also revealed that Dr Obeng-Andoh had no license for his health facility, as required by law.