I have been charged for stealing a diamond necklace
DEAR Mirror Lawyer, I work independently as a cleaner for my clients in their homes. On January 1, 2023, I was arrested by the police and subsequently granted bail.
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The charge against me is that I stole a diamond necklace on December 20, 2022, from the home of one of my clients, Auntie Hannah.
Interestingly, I was on Christmas break in my village, Asempa, from the 15-31 of December 2022. I have the ticket for the STC bus on which I travelled to and from my village.
While there, I also appeared in a video news report made by one of the TV stations about the bad nature of the roads in my village.
I'm worried about the charge by the police and the fact that I could be imprisoned for something I did not do. Please advise me.
Jane Asamoah, Kumasi.
Dear Jane, I appreciate your anxiety and fear. Your charge is one of the reasons professional lawyers are needed in society to fight for the rights of people according to the law of the land.
The facts you put out confirm that you have a defence in law called an alibi. The word alibi, which means elsewhere, is derived from another Latin word, ‘alius’, which means another or different. So, alibi means another place.
In legal terms, an alibi is a defence to a criminal charge by pleading and providing evidence to prove that the accused person was at a different place when the crime occurred.
Simply put, the defence of an alibi is an excuse for not being at the scene of a crime.
Section 131 of the Criminal and Other Offences (Procedure) Act 1960, Act 30 deals with an alibi. It provides that:
(1) Where an accused intends to put forward as a defence a plea of alibi, the accused shall give notice of the alibi, to the prosecutor or counsel with particulars as to the time and place and of the witnesses by whom it is proposed to prove.
I advise you to maintain a calm composure. I am glad you still have the bus ticket receipts. That may serve as evidence to dissociate you from the alleged stealing.
I advise that it is kept well, and if the matter goes to court, it may be admitted in evidence as an alibi, as you could not have been in two places simultaneously. The video report by the TV station you appeared in, is also substantial evidence as an alibi.
I will advise you to request that the TV station give you a copy of the video clip for future evidential purposes. I also recommend you photocopy the original ticket and present it to the police to help them with the investigation.