The Zongo police in Kumasi are investigating a case in which a stoutly-built man raped a 19-year old girl in the full glare of the public at Asafo. Eric Adjei Bawuah, known among his peers as ‘Machoman’ seized the young woman at dawn on Wednesday at the Neoplan Bus Terminal where she was going to board an Accra-bound bus after visiting a relative in Kumasi. Luv FM’s Ohemeng Tawiah reports that he bundled the lady into a taxi cab and after driving a few yards away, he stopped the taxi, dragged his prey out of the vehicle and tore her dress to pieces. The by-stander effect was in full swing as about 50 people watched while the poor lady was sexually molested in a bestial conduct. The distraught lady told Ohemeng Tawiah, she endured the public ridicule and humiliation for some time until a bold, good samaritan came to her rescue. She wants her attacker severely punished to serve as a deterrent to others harbouring such diabolic ideas. But Adjei Bawuah denied raping the lady, arguing his victim was a prostitute who consented to the act. Residents say the suspect is a known robber who has been terrorizing residents of Asafo for the past three years. He will be arraigned before court Friday, July 31, 2009. Story by Malik Abass Daabu/Myjoyonline/Ghana