On June 4, 2023, Crime Check Foundation (CCF) posted on its online platform, Crime Check TV GH an interview with a 64-year-old man, Isaac Odoom who was been jailed for breaking into Paintsil’s house to sleep.
According to Mr. Odoom, he was convinced by a colleague with whom they burn charcoal for a living at Ajumako Besease in the Central Region to trespass the property of the player through the window.
The Ajumako Magistrate Court found him guilty of stealing and sentenced him to twelve months imprisonment.
In a statement from the quarters of John Paintsil issued on 6th June 2023, to make clarifications to the story, the former midfielder indicated false accusations were peddled against him hence the need to provide facts on the issue.
Justifying the imprisonment of Odoom, Paintsil indicated that the released prisoner and his accomplice stayed in his property for three days and stole a mattress they slept on when they were leaving.
“Some people unlawfully entered my property at Besease without my authorization through a window. These people stayed in the apartment for three days, sleeping on a mattress bought by my caretaker and subsequently stole it. Thankfully, my caretaker discovered these individuals and took the necessary action to protect my property and well-being.
The former footballer’s explanation contradicted Isaac Odoom’s account that claimed the player’s house was empty. “The player had sacked everybody from the house. Nobody lived in there so it was empty. There was nothing to pick from the house so we were innocently charged with theft,” Odoom recounted.
Paintsil distanced himself from his involvement in jailing the poor man.
“It is important to note that I had no involvement in the subsequent legal proceedings. The decision to arrest and sentence the individual rests solely with the authorities and the judiciary system. I had no authority to determine the length of the sentence, as that falls under the jurisdiction of the judge and the legal process” the statement stated.
The former Ghanaian international, however, sought to directly attack the founder and Executive Director of Crime Check Foundation accusing him of attempting to mar his image for sharing the story.
“It is my belief that the Mr. Ibrahim Oppong Kwarteng in question may have a personal issue with me, as evident by his intention to tarnish my image by using my name as the caption. It’s worth noting that the headline could have been « Emmanuel Boateng bails a 64-year-old man » since Emmanuel played a pivotal role in bailing the 64-year-old man out of prison.”
Read the full statement below.
By Rudolph Nandi
