A Suhum Circuit Court in the Eastern Region has jailed a notorious quack abortion doctor who had operated in the area for about 10 years now.
Starr News Eastern Regional Correspondent Kojo Ansah in 2017, secretly filmed this quack doctor – Darko David through undercover investigation in a small dirty room turned abortion Clinic at Mile 44 community a suburb of Suhum.
He, however, managed to escape and deserted the town when Police attempted to arrest him but returned after the dust settled.
The convict, Darko David, 41, was arrested while about to terminate another pregnancy of a young lady on January 9, 2021, having conducted some botched abortions the previous days which resulted in serious complications of the victims hence referred from Suhum government Hospital to Eastern Regional Hospital.
He pleaded guilty when put before the Suhum Circuit Court on Monday therefore jailed four years.
Suhum Police Commander Superintendent Joseph Owusu said medical equipment and drugs used for the illegal abortion were retrieved.
“We received an information that somebody is operating illegal abortion within Suhum municipality and based on this intelligence the Suhum district police command gathered themselves and arrested the suspect.
“When we searched him we were able to retrieve medical instruments and drugs and we processed him before court and he was sentenced to four years imprisonment, we are now taking him to the Koforidua prisons to go and serve his term. According to his mother, he started this business more than ten years now,” The Police Commander said.
The Police Commander advised the youth to desist from patronizing the services of quack doctors.
“This is illegal abortion so the young ladies must be mindful and is not good and safe for them it’s against our laws especially the one who administer the medicine, the one who provided the means and the person who went and caused the abortion is against the law apart from that it is not safe for young ladies because these persons are quack doctors, they don’t know anything about this Gynecology system so you can die through this or may damage the uterus system”
The Suhum Municipal Director of Health Dr. Frederick Kwame Ofosu said the operation of the quack doctor has resulted in many complications therefore his arrest is timely to save lives.
“Yes about two or three of complications landed at the Suhum government hospital and another one also landed at the regional hospital in Koforidua and that necessitated the need to inform the police for the police to act. We’ve not yet recorded maternal death in relation to illegal abortion but it might be that the operations of the man has also caused some deaths that we don’t know ”
He urged the young girls to patronize accredited health facilities if they want to terminate their pregnancies.
“The public health facilities are allowed to do this kind of abortion if there is the need to do it so I will advise those that are in need to come to the public health facilities so that they will undergo the necessary counselling and if there is the need to have it then it will be done very well for them to get well to avoid any form of complication in relation to abortion. Yes, there are health implications you might get complications from the abortion, you can also die, even if you do not die and you are caught there is a criminal code that you can be prosecuted.”
