A Tarkwa District Court has sentenced an illegal miner to one year imprisonment with hard labour for attacking a student during a confrontation linked to illegal mining activities at Bompieso in the Prestea Huni-Valley Municipality in the western Region.
The convict, Bismark Owusu, pleaded guilty to a charge of causing unlawful harm after slashing the victim twice with a blade, an act the court described as unprovoked and violent.
Presenting the facts, the prosecution told the court that the incident occurred on October 7, 2025, when the complainant, Bright Akwasi Aboagye, was riding a tricycle with a passenger through the community.
According to the prosecution, the student encountered a group of illegal miners assaulting a young man accused of stealing gold-bearing stones. When the complainant attempted to intervene to stop the beating, tensions escalated.
The court heard that although the situation was initially defused and the parties separated, the accused later tracked down the complainant at a game centre and reignited the confrontation.
Prosecutors said Owusu attacked the student with a blade, inflicting multiple wounds on his back before fleeing the scene as the victim bled.
Residents who rushed to assist sent the injured student to the Bompieso Clinic for medical attention, after which the matter was formally reported to the police.
Owusu was arrested later the same day and subsequently arraigned before the Tarkwa District Court One, presided over by Charles Owusu Nsiah, which handed down the custodial sentence.