Some residents in Kumasi have described as callous and barbaric the conduct of a heavily built man said to have forcibly had sex with a 19-year old girl in public. Twenty-nine year old gym instructor, Eric Adjei-Bawuah was arrested at Asafo on Wednesday after the dastardly act he visited on his victim in the full glare of about 50 bystanders. The victim was on her way to board a vehicle to Accra when the suspect was said to have forced her into a taxi and then into a drinking spot where he raped her. Residents have been expressing shock at Bawuah’s behaviour, and want justice for the victim. Some of them were at the Regional Police headquarters to catch a glimpse of the suspect. Reggae musician, Sasha Marley is one of those demanding that the law comes heavily on Bawuah. “Is it sickness in the mind or what, doctors have to examine his mind and if he is in the right mind, he got to be dealt with according to the laws of the land. No one is above the law” he said. Marley also wants the authorities to help weed out all social misfits from the society. Meanwhile, relatives of the victim have dismissed Bawuah’s claims that she is a prostitute who had consented to the sexual affair. An elder sister, Akosua Mensah, who said she personally saw-off her sister at dawn of Wednesday, claimed the victim is an apprentice in Accra and has been experiencing pain in her private part in addition to having sleepless nights and loss of appetite since the attack on her. Eric Adjei-Bawuah who claimed to be a gym instructor in Accra is expected to be arraigned before court on Monday August 3rd on robbery and rape charges. Story by Ohemeng Tawiah, Nhyira FM/Ghana