18 Year - Old Tiller Sentenced six and half Years for Stealing

The Wenchi Magistrate Court Presided over by His Wordship Issah Abdul Rahman has sentenced 18 year old tiller Francis Addo Baffoe six years and six months in prison for stealing.

The accused person was charged with two counts

Count one :  Unlawful entry contrary to section 152 of the criminal and other offensive ACT, 1960(ACT 29), 

Count two: Stealing, contrary to section 124(1) of the criminal and other offensive ACT,1960,(ACT 29).

Complainant of the case is one Atta Kwaku age 35,  a farmer and the accused person Francis Addo Baffoe both residents at Pramaso/Nchiraa in the Wenchi Municipality of the Bono Region.

Police prosecutor Detective Chief Inspector Victor Samadzi told the court that on the third day of March 2022 in the evening, the complainant retired to bed without locking his door, same night the accused who claims he came to visit an old woman in the complainant's house realized that the complainant's room was not locked so he entered the room and made away with his itel keypad phone and an MP3 player.

The complainant woke up the next morning and his phone and MP3 player were nowhere to be found including an amount of GH¢ 50.00 the Prosecutor told the court.

According to him the complainant highly suspected accused person and on the seventh day of March this year he was arrested in a different stealing case, complainant on hearing that quickly came to the police station and filed a case. Accused was cautioned and he admitted the offence but denied knowledge of the GH¢ 50.00 , after careful investigations accused person was charged with the offence as stated on the charge sheet.

Detective Chief Inspector Victor Samadzi again told the court that,  "on the twenty second day of February this year one Mahamadu Sittah age 22 years farmer also a resident at Pramaso/ Nchiraa and his wife retired to bed and intentionally left their door opened because of the room's temperature, same night Francis Addo Baffoe who was returning from an entertainment program passed by the complainant's house and pretended to be checking up on them, accused after entering the house and realized that the complainant and other occupants of the house were all asleep, entered the complainant room and made away with their phones.

They woke up at dawn and the phones were nowhere to be found he then filed a report at the Nchiraa police station", Chief Inspector Victor Samadzi said

He further told the court that the complainant and his family started searching for the phones.

On 25th February,2022 one Mahamadu Amina,a witness and sister to the complainant who stays close to "Obidi3 aba" drinking spot saw the accused inside the drinking bar and suspected that the accused might knew something about the missing phones, she then called the complainant phone and heard the phone ringing in the accused person's pocket, he was then arrested and sent to the police station upon interogation by the police the accused person admitted the offence after careful investigations accused person was charged with the offence as stated on the charge sheet the prosecution explained.

In addition one Osei Joseph age 20 year old student at Nchiraa Senior High School also filled a case that on the second day of March this year the same Francis Addo Baffoe entered he and his roommate room and made away with their mobile phones while they were asleep.

They informed their friends of what befell them and sort their assistance in looking for the stolen phones.

On 3rd March,2022 one minor name ( withheld) age 14 and a student sent a Samsung Galaxy S2 core to an electrician to be unlocked for him, the electrician who is a cousin to the complainant quickly identified the phone as that of the complainant and called him to come over to his workplace the Chief Inspector told the Presiding Judge.

According to the Prosecutor the complainant on receipt of that information rushed to the workplace of the electrician and identified the mobile phone as his which was stolen., A2, "the student"  was questioned by the complainant by the complainant and the electrician as to how he came by the mobile phone and he told them that it was A1, Francis Addo Baffoe who sold it to him at GH¢ 220.00, that he A2 had made a part payment of GH¢ 60.00 , the accused Francis Addo Baffoe was arrested and sent to the police station together with the Samsung Galaxy S2 core and filed a complainant A1 was also arrested in the course of investigation and after careful investigations they were charged with the offences stated on the charge sheet and arraigned before this court for trial Detective Chief Inspector Victor Samadzi concluded.

The Presiding Judge upon hearing the charges against A1 sentenced him 6 years and 6 months into prison custody for hard labour.

A2 was cautioned and discharge.