A second year General Arts student of the Philips Commercial College in Kumasi, is in the firm grips of the police for attempting to rob a taxi driver of his money and personal belongings. Kwaku Boakye, 17, was arrested on the eve of Monday, May 26, 2008, when together with his friend, Nana Kofi Peprah, who is at large, attacked a taxi cab with registration number AW 3685 Q, at Kwadaso Agric, a suburb of Kumasi. The suspect, who lives at Ahenema Kokoben, but hails from Poano, near Bekwai, told the police in Kumasi that on Monday evening, his friend, Nana Kofi asked him to accompany him to Agric to visit his sister, which he obliged. He said they hired a taxi at Santasi roundabout with the driver agreeing to collect GH¢3.00 He continued that when they arrived at the main gate of the Kwadaso Agric College, his friend asked the driver to stop while he went to call one of his colleagues, but he arrived later without the colleague and so they decided to drive off again. No sooner had the driver started the engine of the car than his friend, who was sitting at the back of the car grabbed the driver with a knife to his neck and instructed him (Kwaku Boakye) to search the driver and collect all monies in his possession. Even though the driver pleaded that he did not have enough money on him because he had just started work, Nana Kofi insisted that the driver should bring all his money or he would cut his throat. At this juncture, Kwaku Boakye said they managed to take only GH¢2 and a mobile phone from the driver and attempted to run away, but the driver raised the alarm to attract the attention of some security personnel at the Agric College. Boakye stated he was arrested by the security personnel and handed over to the Central Police. The taxi cab driver, who sustained injury on the throat and the neck, was rushed to a Hospital at Abuakwa where he was treated and discharged. Meanwhile, the Ashanti Regional Police Command has mounted a search for his accomplice, Nana Kofi. The Regional Crime Officer, ACP Bright Oduro, has hinted that the two could be part of gangs who operate in the city and snatch cars and mobile phones from drivers and passengers. He therefore cautioned taxi drivers to be wary of people they pick as passengers, especially when they are young men and are moving in pairs. Source: The Chronicle