Businessman in court for stealing power
A businessman is standing trial for allegedly stealing power worth GH¢75,000 and reconnecting two shops to electricity illegally after they had been disconnected by officials of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
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The accused person, Selorm Dzomeku, is said to have tampered with ECG meters in his two shops at Baatsona on the Spintex Road in Accra and that when power was disconnected, he secretly reconnected the meters without going through the appropriate channel to have the situation redressed.
When he appeared before the Accra Circuit Court, he pleaded not guilty to two counts of intentionally interfering with the ECG’s distribution system and stealing.
Bail
The court, presided over by Mrs Afi Agbanu, granted him bail in the sum of GH¢150,000 to be justified by three sureties who are to be public servants.
Dzomeku is to appear before the court again on August 13, 2016.
The lawyer for the accused had earlier protested against some aspects of the facts of the case presented to the court, claiming that his client was a businessman, even though the court had been told he was a driver.
The Manager of the Prosecution Unit of the ECG, Mr Paul Assibi Abariga, indicated that in his statement to the police, the accused had stated that he was a driver.
Fact
Presenting the facts of the case to the court, Mr Abariga said on July 8, 2016, officials of the ECG Revenue Protection Unit at the Tema Regional Office, while on their usual monitoring duties, discovered that the meter supplying power to the two supermarkets Dzomeku owned had been by-passed.
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He said the case was reported to the ECG investigations unit, leading to the arrest of Dzomeku.
After an assessment of his shops, Dzomeku was slapped with a bill of GH¢75,149.24 following revelation that he was consuming power illegally.
Mr Abariga said the ECG team disconnected the source of power supply to the two shops, only to return 20 days later to find that Dzomeku had reconnected power to his shops without recourse to the ECG.
Writer’s email: emelia.ennin@graphic.com.gh