A fake medical practitioner is currently on the run after reportedly deluding patients admitted to Takoradi Government Hospital.
The suspect, identified as Jude, is believed to have presented the hospital management with a forged attachment letter from the University of Ghana Medical School, requesting an internship as a junior doctor.
After a few days of working with the institution, he devised a plan to steal from sick people on admission.
According to sources, he collected the cell phones of all patients upon admission under the guise of keeping them safe from burglars.
“He took their phones and informed them that criminals had been coming to the hospital to harm patients, so the phones would be kept safe for them.” “He also persuaded them to unlock the phones because someone might call them urgently,” our informant said.
While the suspect had the unlocked phones, he began speaking with the patient’s close connections and demanded that they provide money for emergency care.
“He pretended to be the patients while using their phones to communicate with their connections about the need for financial assistance for medical care. Several of the people he contacted sent him an undisclosed sum of money since they believed they were conversing with the phone’s original owners, the sources continued.
A Nigerian woman who lives in Takoradi and has been running a chop bar was one of the victims.
In light of this intelligence, the suspect sought out a Nigerian prostitute in Vienna City in Takoradi and used the unwitting sex worker to solicit money from her Nigerian friends.
“On Wednesday, I was at Vienna when the suspect approached me and inquired about my nightly rate. I initially informed him he would pay GH600, but when he requested a discount, we all settled on GH500. He then suggested that we go to my house, and I agreed because I would later take my money. We took a shower and completed our tasks. He requested my mobile money registered number from me in the morning since he would be receiving money from someone. Calls began to come in from Nigeria while he was holding four phones, and he requested that I speak to the callers in my language.
She claimed that despite her reservations about the suspect’s actions, she followed all of his directions, and they were able to obtain some cash.
“He wanted me to tell everyone who called that I was ill in the hospital and urgently needed the money, which I did, but I later discovered he was playing a trick on me. I started questioning him, and he revealed that he was in the internet business and that the SIM card was for a friend. Later, he requested me to make the withdrawal for him, but I declined. Later, I gave him a portion of the cash and warned him that he would be handed over to the authorities if he did not tell me what he was planning.
She claims that several of the victims have now gotten in touch with her, and she has sent the remaining funds back to them.
After he left, other victims, including the pastor of one of the patients, called me, came to my lodge, and I gave them their money back. I have given the hospital authorities the laptop, suitcase, and iPhone that he also left behind, she continued.
The suspect was staying at the Holy Hill Assemblies of God Church’s Mankessim White House mission house while he was in Takoradi, where he had gone to “accept Jesus Christ as his Lord and personal saviour.”
Apostle Jerry, the senior pastor, expressed disbelief upon learning of the suspect’s method of operation while posing as a “saint”
“He arrived and told me a really sad story. He claimed he was a pharmacist by trade, that he fled Sierra Leone where he was wanted for dispensing a drug that killed a patient, and that he was in need of a place to sleep. He even came to give testimony in an open church after I assisted him in writing an application letter for the Takoradi Hospital. Prior to receiving a call informing me that he had fled and turned off his phones, I was unaware that he was a fake, the man continued.
Hospital administrators have already reported the incident to Takoradi Central Police Station for additional inquiries.
While the suspect is presently on the run, all of the allegedly stolen medical supplies from the hospital have been found.
Since then, a large number of Nigerian citizens in Takoradi have admitted to paying the suspect money.
Source: 3news
