Reports
reaching this paper have it that four men were on Saturday arrested for alleged
impersonation. Baboucarr Bah, Bakary Sarjo, Yaya Njie and Yusupha Sissoho were
said to have been arrested at the Serrekunda market following tips that they
had been going round Super Markets and other business outlets within
Serrekunda, posing variously as Public Health Officials, security agents and
officials from the State Department for Trade, and fraudulently confiscating
foodstuff on unsubstantiated grounds that those foodstuff have expired.
Sources said the suspects are currently with the police, helping them in their investigations.
Meanwhile a senior health official, who spoke to The Point on condition of anonymity, said that the practice has been going on for a long time and has tarnished the image of Public Health Officers. "It is only the Public Health Officers who have the powers under the Public Health Act to inspect food outlets, and even with that they have to show their professional cards before carrying any inspection," he said.
He called on the public to be vigilant enough and to promptly report any suspect(s) to security or Public Health Officers.
