Mob attempts to lynch two alleged fraudsters (photos)

Two men suspected of attempting to defraud a student were nearly lynched by a mob at Kasoa but for the timely intervention of some Good Samaritans.

The mob beat the two men after a driver in traffic raised an alarm that one of the suspects had stolen money from a lady's bag.

The mob, made up of drivers, conductors, passengers, traders and some passers-by, used sticks, cement blocks, stones and belts to beat the two men.

The names of the suspects - believed to be between the ages of 25 and 30 - were not readily available at the time of filing this report.

One suspect escapes

One of the suspected fraudsters managed to escape after sustaining injuries on his head and face.

However, luck eluded the other suspect when he attempted to escape, as more young men who had heard about the incident gave him a hot chase and apprehended him at a point near the Maranatha Preparatory School. 

While he was being beaten, some women pleaded with the mob to spare the life of the suspect and rather hand him over to the police, but they refused, saying if they did so, they would be required to give statements to the police, which they were not ready for.

Some members of the mob suggested that it was better to stone him to death than to hand him over to the police.

Later, three young men who only gave their names as Micheal, Mohammed and Yaw Ansah arrived at the scene and succeeded in rescuing the suspect.

They escorted the suspect to a point on the Kasoa-Bawjiase road and freed him with a warning to not engage in such criminal acts again.

Student tells her story 

The student, Malinda Akoto, 18, told the Daily Graphic that two men approached her immediately she alighted from a vehicle and told her that they could help her find solution to her spiritual problems. 

She said the men, who introduced themselves as evangelists told her they could see a black spirit walking behind her and that was the source of the challenges she had been experiencing in life.

"They told me to give them GH¢5 for them to pray on it for me. When l gave one of them the money, he asked me to close my eyes and bow my head for the prayers."

Ms Akoto said while the prayers were being said, some men approached them and claimed one of the men had removed money from her hand bag, which was hanging on her right shoulder. 

“Initially I argued with the men and told them that l had given the man GH¢5 for them to pray for me and that they hadn't taken my money. But someone asked me to look into my bag if my money was intact while they held the two men by their shirts.”

She said she found out that a GH¢50 note she had put in her bag was not there. "I had used the money to pay for my fare but the mate said he did not have change so he gave it back to me. I put it in my bag but I forgot to lock my bag when the two men agreed to pray for me.”

When the Daily Graphic contacted the Kasoa Police Station, the policemen said the case had not been reported there.

Below are images from the scene of the incident

{gallery}lynch_victim_kasoa{/gallery}