The Koforidua Circuit Court has sentenced a cook to seven years’ imprisonment with hard labour for kidnapping a four-year-old boy.

Samuel Offei, 41, pleaded guilty to the offence of kidnapping a student of the Royal Academy School at Okorase, a suburb of Koforidua in the Eastern Region.

An ex-boyfriend of the victim’s mother is said to have gone to the boy’s school during break time and picked him up to his new location at Asokore, another suburb of Koforidua.

The Eastern Regional Police Public Relations Officer (PRO), Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Ebenezer Tetteh, said on November 8, 2018, Theresa Ansah, a trader, reported of her missing son to the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service.

He said the next day Offei called Theresa to inform her that he had the boy and demanded an amount of GH¢ 2,500 from her before he would release her son to her.

Samuel, he said, was arrested after the police had gathered information of his whereabouts at the Salvation Army Church at Asokore Zongo.

DSP Tetteh added that the boy, who was rescued thereafter, was found to be in good condition.