The family of a 15-year-old boy who allegedly committed suicide on 8th June, 2025, while in the custody of Tarkwa-Simpa Police Station cells is demanding answers from the police and the government’s investigation into the sudden passing of the suspect.
The deceased suspect, Simon Obeng, was arrested on Thursday, June 5, after his employer allegedly accused him of stealing his gold and was kept in cells pending investigation.
However, Citi News sources say the Police informed the family that Simon allegedly hanged himself on Sunday morning. In a video Citi News came across, the late Obeng was seen hanging from a rope in the metal gate of the cell.
This unexpected, tragic incident has left family members devastated and suspicious, hence demanding better explanations for Simon’s death.
The suspicion of the family is premised on allegation that the foreman, Ezekiel Asare, and the owner of the mine, Nana Adu, on the Saturday went back to the Police station to seek a bail for the boy they brought to the police station, but the police refused, claiming it was so late to grant bail to Obeng, only for him to be found hanged in the police cell.
The late Obeng’s Mother, Akua Atta, while expressing foul play in the alleged suicide, demanded answers over the police handling of the case and refusal to grant the earlier bail attempt.
“We spoke with him on the phone several times while in cell, and we assured him that we are seeking bail for him soon. Only for us to be suddenly told of a suicide. I don’t understand this, and we don’t believe this. What I don’t even understand at all is that he was in the cell with another person, but they moved that person out in the evening.
“When my son and others went there to bail him, the police said it was late and therefore refused the bail and disallowed them from even seeing him, as they claimed they had moved him to another place. This is difficult to understand and so I’m pleading with the government to look into this matter, because I have no help,” she pleaded.
Akua Atta further denied the alleged claim by the Police that his son left behind a suicide note, where he wrote that he was 18 and not 15, another attempt by the police to justify keeping a minor.
The Police is yet to respond to calls for further details on this issue.