[dropcap]A[/dropcap] 35-year-old man was yesterday fined GH¢600 by the Accra District Court for presenting a fake bank statement to support his visa application from the German embassy. In default, the convict, Awal Oneil, will serve six months in jail.
Oneil pleaded guilty to two counts of forging documents and possession of forged documents and was convicted on his own plea by the court, presided over by Ms Arit Nsemoah.
He was slapped with a fine of GH¢600 or in default a six-month jail term for the charge of forging documents and a fine of GH¢540 or in default four months imprisonment for the charge of possession of fake documents.
Both sentences will run concurrently.
Visa application
Presenting the facts of the case, the prosecutor, Detective Inspector Simon Apiosornu, said on July 4, 2017, Oneil applied for a visa at the German embassy, but he presented a fake ADB Bank statement to support his application.
Officials of the embassy detected that the bank statement was fake and subsequently alerted the police, leading to Oneil’s arrest.
The prosecutor stated that during interrogation, Oneil revealed that he did not have enough money in his bank account to convince the embassy that he had the means to support himself, therefore, he contacted a friend in Italy to help him.
The friend got in touch with another person, who sent him the bank statement to use for the visa application.
Detective Inspector Apiosornu added that the police contacted ADB Bank and it was confirmed that the bank statement was indeed fake.
Advice
Delivering the judgement, the presiding magistrate said she did not impose a custodial sentence on the convict because he readily admitted his guilt, was a first-time offender and was also remorseful.
A custodial sentence, she said, would have shattered Oneil’s life and that of his son, whom he was going to visit in Germany.
Ms Nsemoh, however, warned him never to indulge in anything that would make him fall foul of the law.
