The Accra Circuit Court has remanded a caregiver, Clara Anyani-Ampah into police custody for her handling of an eleven-month-old baby which allegedly led to the death of the child.
The incident of abuse was captured by a Closed-Circuit-Television (CCTV) camera at the Happy Bloomers Crèche, a pre-school at Ashongman Estates in Accra.
The CCTV video showed the victim in a neatly decorated classroom with two other babies.
One of the babies was standing in a baby’s cot, while the other was lying on the floor, unattended to, with little Allegra sitting on a stool.
In the video, Clara was seen leaving the classroom, returning shortly with a cup, and also cleaning the floor with tissue.
She was later seen trying to force porridge in a cup into the victim’s mouth while holding the baby’s hands tightly behind her.
Clara was also seen pushing the baby’s head into the cup in an attempt to get the little girl to drink the porridge, while the helpless baby, who appeared to be suffocating, screamed and threw her legs into the air ferociously.
The Public Relations Officer of the Accra Regional Police Command, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mrs. Effia Tenge, said a docket on the case has been forwarded to the Attorney General’s Department for advice.
She said on May 18, this year, the victim’s father reported to the Agbogba Police that the management of the school had called him to inform him that his daughter was sick and had been taken to the North Legon Hospital, where she was pronounced dead on arrival.
A team of police investigators went to the hospital, examined the baby’s body, and took it to the Police Hospital morgue.
The Proprietress of the school, Mrs. Christiana Atta Kumah, later handed over the CCTV of the day’s activities in the school to the police, which revealed how Clara had handled the baby.
The body of the victim has since been released to the family for burial.
Meanwhile, the suspect, Clara Anyani-Ampah is to reappear before the court on June 11, 2021.
