The Tema District Court has issued a bench warrant for the arrest of Patience Atikpo a trader for indiscriminate dumping and burning of refuse at her trading premises.
The court presided over by Mr. Festus Fovi Nukunu issued the bench warrant after Atikpo failed to appear before the court on April 21, 2022, to answer charges of indiscriminate dumping and burning of refuse, creating an unsanitary drain in front of her premises, and non-compliance with a statutory notice.
The trial has been adjourned for the accused to reappear before the court.
The fact of the case as narrated by the prosecution was that Atikpo operates a grocery store in Tema Community 18-Cambodia around the block factory within the Tema West Municipal Assembly.
The prosecution, which was led by Issah Al-Hassan also told the court that on February 16, this year, a team of Environmental Health Officers conducted an inspection on the accused person’s trade premises.
The prosecution said during the inspection it was detected that Atikpo dumps and burns refuse at the back of her trade premises indiscriminately causing a smoke nuisance to residents around.
Al-Hassan said it was also established that the accused also allowed the drainage in front of her trade premises to be stagnant with filth and has become the breeding grounds for mosquitoes.
The prosecution said the Environmental Health Officers drew her attention to the nuisances and she admitted the offence.
The prosecution said a statutory notice was issued and served on the accused to stop burning refuse at the back of her trade premises and to remove all the filth from the drain are cleared but the accused failed to comply.
