A Kumasi Circuit Court has granted a former elder of the Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA) Church and his employee at Kwadaso in Kumasi a GH¢20,000 (200 million cedis) bail with four sureties for allegedly stealing the tithe and offering of the church.

The former elder, Osei Owusu-Sekyere, 55, owner of Koos Printing Press and his employee, Victor Amofah, 34, pleaded not guilty to the charge and they are to re-appear on September 13.

Prosecuting, Police Chief Inspector Comfort Baffour-Kyei told the court presided over by Mr Richard Mac Kogyapwah, that the complainant in the case was the President of the Central Ghana Conference of the SDA Church at Kwadaso in Kumasi.

She said in March this year, the treasury and the internal auditors of the church detected that their tithe and offering had reduced drastically prompting the administration to set up a committee to delve into the issue.

Chief Inspector Baffour-Kyei said a witness in the case who is also a printer and a member of the church visited the Brother Image Printing Press at Asafo in Kumasi, where he found some printed tithes and offering books bearing the name of the church.

The prosecution said Amofah's name was mentioned when the witness questioned them, leading to his arrest by the Asawasi police.

In his caution statement Amofah told the police that it was Owusu-Sekyere who employed him to print them and he was also arrested.

Chief Inspector Baffour-Kyei said police investigation discovered two printing plates bearing the church's name in the room of Owusu-Sekyere.

Source: GNA