Court fines cartographer for forgery

A cartographer has been fined GH¢600 by the Madina District Court for forging the official seal of the Survey and Mapping Division of the Lands Commission and the signatures of some of its officials to prepare a concession map for a mining company.

Justice Kobina Arthur admitted forging the seal of the division, the signature of the Head of the division- Mr Robert Hackman, and the signature of a Geomatic Engineer, Dr John Kofi Borsah.

He was convicted after he pleaded guilty to two counts of forgery of official documents.

A cartographer is a person who draws or produces maps.

Judgment

Per the judgment delivered by the court, presided over by Mr Richard D. Anku, the convict will spend 12 months in prison if he fails to pay the fine.

“Accused person pleaded guilty to both counts preferred against him as per the charge sheet. The accused person is found guilty of the said offences and accordingly sentenced on his own plea to a fine of 50 penalty units on each count amounting to GH¢600 each to run concurrently.

In default, the accused person will serve an imprisonment term of 12 months with hard labour,” the presiding magistrate ruled.

Facts

According to the facts as presented by the prosecution, Dr Borsah and Mr Hackman reported to the police that they had sighted a proposed concession map for a mining firm with their forged signatures.

The police officially wrote to the Minerals Commission for further particulars on the said map and investigations led to the arrest of Arthur.