The Attorney-General’s Department has decided to appeal against the verdict of the Accra Circuit Court to bond Michael Quansah, the 28-year-old man who held himself out as a medical officer and defrauded people, to be of good behaviour.

In default, Quansah will go to jail for six months.

A source close to the A-G's Department expressed frustration at the decision of the trial judge to impose a minimum sentence on the accused person whose activities posed a grave danger to the public.

It said although the law on which the judgement was based must be outdated, the trial judge could have imposed a much stiffer punishment.

“At least the judge has the option to impose a penalty , ranging from a bond to 12 months’ imprisonment as maximum sentence”, the source at the A-G’s Department said.

The source indicated the intention of the AG's Department to review the law to make it a disincentive for characters such as Quansah to toy with the health of people.

Quansah was arrested by the Ghana Medical and Dental Council for holding himself out as a medical doctor and defrauding people of huge sums of money.

He was also reported to have used his false representation to travel to Italy to address conferences on the topic: "Advancement of Medicine in Ghana in the' 21st Century."

He attracted the attention of the council and security officials after some of his victims reported him to the Medical and Dental Council.

Subsequently, the council collaborated with the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) and the International Police Organisation (INTERPOL) and placed a surveillance on him.

He was arrested on Monday, May 5, 2008, after he had gone to the Dansoman branch of Ecobank to transact some business.

Upon his arrest, Quansah confessed being a fake doctor and a search on him produced 11 different complimentary cards with the logo of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) and the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.

A fake identity card of the University of Ghana Medical School (UGMS) was also found on him.


Source: Daily Graphic