Accra, June 02, GNA- Two persons who stole quantities of electrical cables and blamed their actions on economic hardships, have been sentenced to a total jail term of five years by an Adentan Circuit Court.
Yusif Musah, unemployed, would serve three years on charges of conspiracy to steal and two counts of stealing.
Musah’s accomplice, Kwesi Afful a coconut seller would serve two years imprisonment on the charges of conspiracy to commit a crime and stealing.
They pleaded guilty to all the charges.
The Court presided over by Mrs Sedinam Awo Balokah convicted them on their pleas.
Musah told the Court that: ‘I was hungry, that was why I stole the cables. The economic hardship compelled me to steal. Please forgive me I will never repeat the act of stealing.”
In the case of Afful, he said it was Musah who influenced him to steal.
He said his coconut business went down and he got me into the act of stealing.
The Court turned down their pleas, noting that although some of the electrical cables were retrieved, they were damaged.
The Court said before sentencing, it considered accused persons’ quick admission of guilt.
Prosecuting Police Chief Inspector Maxwell Lanyo said the complainant, Mr Kennedy Aboagye, had an uncompleted apartment at Aviation, a suburb of Adenta.
Chief Inspector Lanyo said most of the apartments had been wired.
The prosecution said during the first week of May this year, the accused persons, now convict, went to the complainant’s site and stole one concrete mixer supporting bar valued at GHC 1,000 and sold it to an unidentified scrap dealer.
It said on May 14, this year, at about 3:00 am, Musah went back to the complainant’s site and pulled electrical cables valued at GHC12,000 from two of the apartments.
The prosecution said Musah packed the booty in a sack and as soon as he was about to leave, he was nabbed. He mentioned Afful as his accomplice. Afful was picked by the Police during investigations.
GNA