Dr. Dominic Obeng Andoh, CEO of the Obengfo Hospital has made an application at an Accra High Court to stay proceedings in the case against him at an Accra Circuit Court.
The charges levelled against him at the Circuit Court are: practising medicine without lawful authority and operating an unlicensed medical facility.
It is the case of the Accused/Applicant, Dr. Obeng Andoh, that on 28th December, 2016, he was arrested by the Police, accompanied by officials of the Medical and Dental Council, on the allegation that he was practising without a license.
According to the Accused/Applicant, he was released the same day, after he was able to produce his license.
The Accused/Applicant claimed that the Medical and Dental Council proceeded to shut down his medical facility, Obengfo Hospital, on the same basis that he was practising medicine without a license.
According to the Accused/Applicant, it was on this basis that he instructed his lawyers to issue a writ of summons and statement of claim in May, 2017.
Counsel for the Accused/Applicant said that the crux of the case in that particular suit is that the Medical and Dental Council is not the body mandated by law to shut down health facilities, on the basis that the doctor in charge practises without a license.
The Accused/Applicant avers that the body lawfully mandated to shut down such facilities is the Health Facilities Regulatory Agency.
He argued that the only authority given to the Medical and Dental Council is to shut down facilities on the suspicion that they are storing hazardous materials.
It is the case of Dr. Obeng Andoh, that despite the civil litigation at the High Court, of which the Medical and Dental Council is the defendant, the council proceeded to lodge a complaint that Dr. Obeng was operating a medical facility without a license, the basis for which the ‘Obengfo’ doctor has been charged at the Circuit Court.
The Accused/Applicant has argued that the proceedings at the Circuit Court is second in time to the suit filed at the High Court in May, 2017 by him.
The Applicant avers that the issue before the High Court is whether or not the defendant (Medical and Dental Council), is the body that should close down facilities that do not have the license to operate, and whether the 2nd Plaintiff in the matter (Dr. Obeng Andoh), has the license to practise, and hence, the determination of the issue will dispose off the current charges against Dr. Obeng Andoh at the Circuit Court.
It is the case of the Accused/Applicant that the outcome of the case at the Circuit Court will be gravely prejudicial to the proceedings at the High Court, and that, all that the defendant will do, is point to the judgement of the Circuit Court, in the case the Accused/Applicant is found guilty there.
The Respondent (The State) vehemently opposed the application with the argument that the issues before the High Court relate to the capacity of the Medical and Dental Council, to close down the Accused/Applicant’s facility, whereas the issue before the Circuit Court, is about the conduct of the Accused/Applicant, which is, practising medicine without lawful authority and operating a medical facility without a license.
The Respondent avers that the case before the Circuit Court is criminal, while the case before the High Court is a civil litigation.
It is the case of the Respondent that the parties in the case before the Circuit Court, that is the Republic against the Accused/Applicant, are different from the parties in the civil litigation, the Accused/Applicant and the Medical and Dental Council.
The Respondent has argued that the two cases before the Circuit Court and the High Court, are mutually exclusive, with distinct suit numbers.
According to Counsel for the Respondent, the motion to stay proceedings at the Circuit Court is without legal basis and not supported by law.
He added that where the issues before the Circuit Court and the High Court are the same, both suits can run concurrently.
The Respondent prayed the Court that the application filed by Dr. Dominic Obeng Andoh, be dismissed for lack of justification.
The case has been adjourned to 7th September, 2018, for ruling on the application.
Source: GhanaJustice/F.Kyeremateng
