Good Samaritan pay fines for 10 petty offenders

An anonymous good samaritan has paid the fines of 10 petty offenders.

The beneficiaries were charged with various offences including stealing two plastic chairs, a sucker of plantain, money among others.

They are scattered across various prisons in the Ashanti Region.

He paid GHC12,500 for the fines.

“My heart broke when I watched one of your YouTube videos, how can we be putting people behind bars for such petty offences,” the Good Samaritan said.

Without a non-custodial sentencing regime that affords judges to prescribe community service and other forms of punishment to petty offenders, every offences lands an individual in jail

The absence of the regime has contributed greatly to the congestion in the prisons.

“We know late Christian Atsu was the one paying for their fines but now that he’s no more, we know there are many who are in anticipation of his help, so we decided to help people like that,” he added

Until his untimely death, Christian Atsu was the single larger donor of the Petty Offenders’ project.

He had released 113 ex-convicts and integrated a lot of them under the reintegration project.

“We will pay for the remaining 16 convicts and we know Atsu was also involved in other projects, like the orphanage. We will come and help when the time comes,“ he noted.

Christian Atsu died in a devastating earthquake that hit Turkey on February 6, 2023

His lifeless body was flown into Ghana for final funeral rites and interments.

It was received by the family and a government delegation led by Vice President Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia in a brief ceremony.

Tributes, since the announcement of his death, have been pouring in from all walks of life in solidarity with his family.

His one-week celebration is scheduled for March 4 and his funeral on 17 March 2023 in Accra.