A thirty- four year old driver who was hacked by armed robbers is appealing for police protection for residents of Abrepo in Kumasi and its environs where residents live in fear. Michael Osei suffered multiple machete and axe wounds when he was attacked by a group of armed men a few minutes after he boarded a KIA Pride taxi at Abrepo Highways two weeks ago. It is the fifth attack in the area within three weeks, after two armed men killed a 43-year old man who confronted them as they attempted to snatch a Mitsubishi Pick Up from him. Except in the vehicle-snatching and the taxi cab robbery incidents which were reported to the police, the rest remained unreported. Mr. Osei, who was returning home from church, was ordered to hand over his bag, money and other belongings on him or risk death. The robbers, including a female, pounced on him and inflicted machete and axe wounds on him when he told them he had no money on him. The criminals got angry when they discovered Osei’s bag contained only five avocado pears, a Bible and a universal phone charger. “They found nothing in the bag because the bag contains only Bible, diary and some avocado pears I had bought earlier in the day. All of a sudden, they hacked me with a machete and a small axe”. The robbers then threw the man out of the moving taxi cab and sped off. Mr. Osei believes he was saved by divine intervention when some of his colleague church members found him in the gutter. “There was one lady already at the back while two men occupy the front seat when I boarded the car. The one at the front ordered me to give my bag to him. I did not hesitate at all to him immediately”. “They inflicted me with multiple machete and axe wounds all over my body. Before I realized, they threw me out of the motion vehicle into a gutter. It took the doctor several hours before he could stitch my wounds. I have multiple cuts from my head down to the feet. I am really in pains now” he said. The Ashanti Regional Police Command, however, says it cannot investigate cases which have not been reported to it. Public Relations Officer, Chief Inspector Yussif Tanko, advises affected residents to use police information and emergency lines to report distressed situations. Story by: Ohemeng Tawiah, Nhyira Fm-Kumasi