We were hungry, accused plead
Two labourers, who appeared before an Accra Magistrates’ Court, appealed to the court to be lenient with them since hunger made them to steal.
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Shehu Ibrahim, 20 and Kangmanaa Abubakari, 27, who were charged with conspiracy and stealing pleaded guilty on both charges and served a day in prison at the court.
They told the court they were driven by hunger to sell the bearings to a scrap dealer for ₵12 to buy food.
“We are even hungry as we stand here” Abubakari added.
The court, presided over by Ms Arit Nsemoh, chided them, saying that hard times did not call for stealing the belongings of others.
She asked them to be of good behaviour and to pay a fine of ₵60 each.
Presenting the facts of the case to the court, Chief Inspector Yeboah said Edward Hammond is a security man at Letap Pharmaceutical Company in Accra.
He said Ibrahim and Abubakari were labourers hired by a private mason and contracted to do repair works on the Letap Company building.
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The prosecutor said on May 6, 2016 at 12p.m, the engineer working on the compressor machine went on break, Ibrahim and Abubakari entered the machine shop, stole the bearings and compressor parts valued at $1,200.
According to him, the two hid the items in the company’s premises and later sold them to a scrap dealer.
C/Inspector Yeboah said they returned to carry the gear box of the compressor but luck eluded them when they were caught by Hammond who arrested them and handed them over to the Accra Central Police Station.
At the police station, they admitted to the offence and took the police to the scrap shop where the items were retrieved.