Nigerian charged with forgery
A jailed Nigerian whose conviction for assaulting prison officers in 2004 was overturned by the Court of Final Appeal in June has been charged with using fake statements in his appeal.
Brian Alfred Hall, 33, jailed for 18 years in 1998, entered no plea to three counts of doing acts intended to pervert the course of justice and one of using copies of false instruments at Eastern Court yesterday.
Hall, also known as John O.S Asante, has been accused of using an affirmation, with fake statements attached that appeared to have been made by two officers of the Correctional Services Department, to appeal against the assault conviction at the Court of Final Appeal.
Hall has also been charged with presenting, as genuine, documents in two other court cases and on another occasion in the past two years.
Among the documents is one which appeared to have been signed by Chan Kong-sang, assistant commissioner of the Correctional Services Department. From November last year to May this year, Hall is alleged to have lied in court about where this notice came from and to have presented it as genuine. He allegedly tried to induce a judge to accept it as real in May.
And he is said to have presented, as genuine, copies of statements purportedly made by officers, and used copies of fake medical reports.
The prosecution applied for an adjournment to prepare documents to transfer the case to a higher court.
Phillip Ross, representing Hall, applied for bail, but Acting Principal Magistrate Bina Chainrai denied it and remanded Hall until his next court appearance, on December 30.
Ross said Stanley Prison officers called Hall a gorilla yesterday morning and jostled and heckled him.
