Mental patient strangles inmate at Accra Psychiatric Hospital
An inmate of the Accra Psychiatric Hospital allegedly went berserk on Saturday night and strangled a fellow inmate.
The inmate, Akua Pokua, aged 27, also pounced on another inmate and caused severe injuries to her eyes and head.
The suspect is said to have torn the shivon red dress of the inmate, Charlotte Nyarko, aged 35, and used it to strangle her before attacking another victim, Hannah Martey, aged 30.
According to the Accra Regional Police Public Relations Officer, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Mr Freeman Tettey, the suspect was admitted to the hospital from Kasoa barely a week ago, while Nyarko had been on admission at the hospital since 1986.
He said on Saturday, January 12, 2013 at about 9:30pm, Pokua who was on the Female Ward Two with other inmates suddenly became aggressive and started attacking them.
The nurses on duty managed to put her on an isolated ward at the hospital but unknown to them, two of the inmates, Nyarko and Martey, were resting on the same ward.
As soon the nurses closed the door of the ward and left for their offices, Pokua attacked the two inmates as soon she saw them lying on the bed.
Mr Tettey said the nurses did not hear the screams from the isolated ward because their office was about 60 metres away.
When Pokua, who is heavily built, killed Nyarko, she launched an attack on the second inmate, hit her head to the wall and attempted to remove her eyes.
However, the screams of Martey were so loud that the situation caught the attention of the nurses who rushed to the ward, only to find Nyarko dead on the floor, with her red dress tied around her neck.
He said the nurses managed to subdue Pokua after which she was chained before they made a report to the police.
Martey was also rushed to the Ridge Hospital in Accra where she was treated and discharged.
The body of the deceased had been deposited at the Korle-bu Teaching Hospital.
DSP Tettey said the police were in a dilemma, as the suspect was not in a state to give her statement, a situation which would make it very difficult for them to investigate the matter.
Source: Daily Graphic