Second Medical Test Proves Takoradi Kidnap Victim Was Not Pregnant

…Police spokesman

Another pregnancy test on 29-year-old Josephine Panyin, the woman at the center of the alleged faked kidnapping story, has returned negative.

This is according to the Ag. Director of Police Public Affairs, ACP Kwesi Fori.

ACP Fori made the revelation on Friday to Accra-based JoyNews saying the test had been done at the Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital. 

This second test, he added affirms an earlier one by the Axim Government Hospital.

“The detailed result has been submitted to the Regional Criminal Investigation Department,” he told JoyNews’ Israel Laryea.

It is not clear if the test conducted is a normal pregnancy test, aka human chorionic gonadotropin test (HCG test), or any other specialist test. But the Police administration issued a statement Friday, evening, confirming that the embattled woman had confessed that she never was really pregnant.

The affirmation means the Police’ decision to treat the alleged kidnapping as staged, is fostered.

A week ago, a picture of Josephine Panyin Mensah circulated with the claim that she was missing. The flyer claimed she was nine months pregnant and had gone missing since September 16.

She however surfaced on the 21st of September at Axim, but without her baby bump according to the family.

Western Regional Minister, Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah was the first to alleged that the kidnapping had been staged to extort money. Mr. Darko Mensah’s aide would later revealed he paid Ghc3,000 as ransom for the release of Josephine.

It was after this that the Axim government hospital confirmed that the woman had never been pregnant, raising more suspicion that she may indeed have staged the kidnapping.

However, the woman’s husband, Michael Simmons has insisted the kidnapping was not staged and that the wife had been pregnant.

On Thursday, angry neighbors of the woman invoked curses with eggs and schnapps upon the regional Minister, the Police and anybody who would say that the kidnapping was faked.

However, this has not dissuaded the Police from arresting Josephine’s husband and her mother as suspects in the alleged staging of the kidnapping.