Josephine Panyin Mensah (Simons), the 28-year-old woman at the centre of a supposed full-term pregnancy and kidnapping, pleaded not guilty in court on Monday (27 September).
Simons, who has allegedly confessed that she invented the whole story to “satisfy” her husband, was granted GH¢50,000 bail at her first court appearance.
The case has been adjourned to 14 October.
She has been charged with deceit of a public officer and false publication with intent to cause fear and panic.
Mensah’s story went viral after it was reported last week that she had gone missing in Takoradi while out on a morning walk. She was said to be nine months pregnant.
She was later found in Axim, also in the Western Region.
Arrest
The police arrested her on Friday evening (24 September) after she allegedly confessed that the story was a hoax.
In a Facebook post, the police said: “The suspect, Josephine Panyin Mensah, 28, has confessed to the police during further investigations and stated that neither was she pregnant nor ever being [sic] kidnapped.”
The police had initially informed the public that two separate tests proved that the woman was never pregnant.
The mobile telephone number used to call family members in Takoradi to demand a ransom was actually registered in her name, the state-owned Daily Graphic quotes top police sources as saying.
The woman’s mother and husband, Michael Simons, who were being kept in police custody as suspects, were released late Friday evening.
