Man Loses Ear In A Battle Of Life And Death

A misunderstanding between two boat operators as to who should operate on market days along the Volta Lake, resulted in one of them losing his ear, after an alleged failed attempt to drown him. The misunderstanding was between Dotse Dzitesy from Abotoase and Wonder Amedefor from Kwamekrom, both in the Biakoye District. In the ensuing fight, Dotse with the help of three of his brothers allegedly overpowered Wonder and bit off his left ear. He bled profusely and had to be rushed to the Worawora Hospital where he was admitted for a week. Wonder complained that, he was currently experiencing hearing impairment. Narrating his ordeal to The Spectator last weekend, Wonder said his boat developed a mechanical fault in October this year, so he decided to contact Dotse for assistance. According to him, Dotse provided a boat, while he (Wonder) also provided an outboard motor, which Dotse later decided to purchase at GH�1,500. He said Dotse however paid GH�500 leaving a balance of GH�1,000. He said Dotse later abrogated the terms of payment and started misbehaving towards him, so he reported the matter to members of the Kwame-Krom unit committee, who decided to share the market days between the two of them, to avoid further confusion. Wonder further alleged that anytime it was his turn, Dotse followed him with his boat, but when it was Dotse's turn, he (Wonder) complied with the decision of the committee. He said on November 21, when it was his turn to ferry passengers over the bank, Dotse and three of his brothers, Anthony, Ebenezer and Addy came to where he (Wonder) was loading items in the boat and prevented the passengers from boarding his boat. According to Wonder when he asked them why they were preventing passengers from boarding his boat, they pounced on him, beat him severely and pushed him into the Volta Lake. But for a good Samaritan who rescued him, he would have drowned. Not satisfied with the ordeal meted out to him, the three brothers again allegedly pounced on him and pushed him on the ground and Dotse bit off his left ear. Sensing danger when they realised he (Wonder) was bleeding profusely, they took to their heels. Some people came to his rescue and sent the two outboard motors, the three brothers had planned to seize, to the Worawora Police Station to lodge a complaint before proceeding with him to the hospital. Unfortunately, the bitten-off ear could not be found. The three brothers were later arrested from their hideout by the police after a tip-off. After investigation, they were charged and put before a Ho circuit court, where they are standing trial for assault.