Barber fined for dumping rubbish into public drain at Hohoe

The Hohoe Magistrate Court has fined a barber GH¢600 after he was caught dumping rubbish into a public drain.

Ekpane Seyram pleaded guilty to the offence and was convicted on his own plea.

The court, presided over by relieving judge Mr Lambert Y. Keriba, ordered him to pay the fine or serve two months in prison in default.

The case was prosecuted by Mr Daniel Dotse Eklo, an Environmental Health Analyst.

He told the court that the incident occurred on Monday, July 27, at about 8:00 p.m. around the Konuvie Plaza area in Hohoe.

According to the prosecution, Seyram was captured on video dumping refuse into the drain.

The video was later shared on Facebook, drawing the attention of the Municipal Chief Executive and the Environmental Health Office at about 9:26 p.m. the same day.

Mr Eklo said the Environmental Health Unit, working with the MCE, investigated the matter and traced Seyram on Wednesday at about 10:30 a.m.

During interrogation, Seyram admitted the offence.

He explained that he had collected the rubbish from in and around a drinking bar where he had been staying.

The bar is said to belong to Madam Cecilia Attamah and Vincentia Attamah around the Konuvie area.

He then dumped the refuse into the public drain nearby.

The prosecution told the court that the Municipal Assembly had provided skip containers at designated points in the municipality for proper refuse disposal.

Mr Eklo said the Konuvie area is close to the Total Fuel Station near the station traffic light and about 150 metres from the Low Cost down and Market area container site.

He described the act as harmful to the environment.

He said dumping refuse into drains could block water flow, cause flooding and increase the risk of disease outbreaks.

The court convicted Seyram after he admitted the offence and imposed the fine.