Monrovia — The key defendant in the ongoing US$100,000 misapplication case at Criminal Court C recently revealed that he was tortured by officers of the Liberia National Police after he personally surrendered himself to the police for a criminal investigation.
Defendant Abraham Benjamin, a Ghanaian and Pastor of one of the branches of Christ Embassy International Church in Liberia, told the court that he was kept in prison for two years before his indictment in February 2023.
Pastor Benjamin was indicted after his Liberian wife, Christiana Singbeh, claimed that she transferred US$100,000 through various financial institutions to her husband to construct several facilities, including an orphanage, school, and a three-story building, which he allegedly misappropriated.
Christiana Singbeh also claimed that the money was sent to defendant Benjamin between 2018 and 2019 through MoneyGram, SendWave, RIA, the Liberia Bank for Development and Investment (LBDI), and other entities.
But, during his testimony, defendant Benjamin said, "It is a diabolical lie, and I did not receive any money from LBDI."
Benjamin further testified that he did not receive any money directly for the construction work. Instead, the money was raised from the sale of goods she sent to him and three other persons. Benjamin also testified that the money from the sale was far less than the US$100,000. "I was able to construct a fence, a modern well, and I started a new project: a three-story building with twelve units and twenty-four rooms."
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According to defendant Benjamin, he was never arrested by the police, but because of his innocence, he decided to walk to the police station to vindicate himself after the allegations were raised by his wife against him.
"I was also dehumanized by the officers," defendant Benjamin alleged. "When I surrendered myself for the investigation as a foreigner, the police did not ask me whether I could be represented by a lawyer and the name of the lawyer."
"I was not represented by counsel," he testified when his lawyer, Cllr. Bestman Juah, asked him whether he was represented by a lawyer during his criminal investigation as provided for by Article 21 (c) of the 1986 Constitution.
"I was not represented by any lawyer."
Further asked if he can remember making any voluntary statements to the police though he was not represented by a lawyer, he again responded, "Yes, I was intimidated, forced, and tortured for four hours before giving the statements."
Again asked how long he spent in police custody where he was tortured and intimidated, he said, "I was detained for 8 days without food before I was released to go back home but to report to the station on a daily basis."
"After my release from detention, the police instructed me that I should just go back home and pick up any belongings to leave the house that I was renting. They escorted me to the house and warned me not to go back to the house."
According to him, before his detention, he had traditionally married his wife, and they had lived peacefully until she got involved in a new relationship, after which she started to treat him badly.
