The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) Sanitation Court has remanded seven persons to prison custody for open defecation in parts of Accra after they failed to pay a fine of 50 penalty units, equivalent to GH¢600.
They are Samuel Aryeequaye, Evans Derry, Kwesi Milla, Richard Quintin Coffie, Seidu Aminu, Awuaaba Michael, and Quarcoo Ernest.
An eighth offender, Raphael Adjetey, who was also convicted for the same offence, paid the fine imposed by the court.
Speaking after the court proceedings, the Head of Public Affairs at the AMA, Mr. Gilbert Nii Ankrah stated that Environmental Health Officers arrested the offenders during a nighttime operation led by the Head of the Environmental Health Department, Mad. Florence Kuukyi.
He said the arrests were made at Bubuashie, Jamestown, and Chorkor as the Assembly intensified enforcement against unsanitary practices in the metropolis.
According to him, the AMA Environmental Health Department had commenced 24-hour operations to ensure compliance with sanitation by-laws, adding that officers had sustained day-and-night monitoring to curb public nuisance and protect public health.
He urged residents to desist from open defecation and use approved sanitary facilities, warning that the Assembly would continue arrests and prosecutions to deter offenders.