A young man who used to work as a Community Policing Assistant (CPA) at the Koforidua Central Police Station was apprehended by the people of Daasebere Estate in the New Juaben South Municipality of the Eastern Region on Tuesday morning.
The ex-CPA, known as Theophilus by his former colleagues, was spotted on a pole trying to sever electricity service cables by another young man who was heading to work. The alleged cable thief attempted to stab the young man with a knife, but he screamed and alerted a security guard who came to his aid.
The angry youth of the area tied Theophilus to the same pole he had climbed and beat him up until a police patrol team arrived and rescued him.
The suspect initially gave his name as Acheampong Emmanuel, but he was quickly recognized by the police patrol team who called him by his real name, Theophilus, before taking him away.
The Assemblyman for the Old Estate West electoral area, Benjamin Appiah, expressed his concern about the frequent criminal activities in the area.
“We have a serious problem with theft in our community. We always hand them over to the police when we catch them. We are trying to protect the community. This morning I was informed that another thief had been caught and beaten, and was tied to a tree. We came and saved him, so I called the police to assist me. This is about the 4th or 5th time a thief has come here to steal. We have about three or four girls here who have been injured with knives by thieves after snatching their phones. I don’t like it when thieves are caught by residents and beaten,” he said.
Some residents of the area also shared some terrifying experiences with criminals and appealed to the Ghana Police Service to increase their patrols day and night.
“We are pleading with the police to intensify patrols here,” they said.
Meanwhile, two suspects who were nabbed last week Friday by the Nyamekrom Community watchdog committee after breaking into a home in the area are receiving treatment at the intensive care unit of the Eastern Regional Hospital in Koforidua.
The two suspects, who belong to a group of criminals who operate with a motorcycle and terrorize residents in the area, were ambushed by the community watchdog committee who had laid a trap.
The Assemblyman for Nyamekrom Electoral area, Nana Boaheng Enoch, who said he has been targeted by the criminals, says the watchdog group will not relent in getting rid of criminals in their neighbourhood.
