The woman crying after her conviction
The Asamankese Circuit Court in the Eastern Region has sentenced a 33-year-old unemployed woman, Priscilla Owusua to seven years imprisonment in hard labour for stealing a three-month old baby in Boadua.
The convict known as Haggar was charged with child stealing, contrary to section 23(1) of the criminal offences Act 1969 and was sentenced to two years.
She was also charged with child stealing contrary to section 93 of the Criminal offences Act 1960(Act 29) and was sentenced to seven years, all to run concurrently.
Her accomplice, Stephen Appiah pleaded not guilty to the above charges so he was remanded for further investigation.
The Prosecutor, Detective Chief Inspector Agbeko Novor presenting the facts to the court said the complainant, is a farmer living with her husband at Boadua, whilst the accused persons also reside in the same town.
According to the Prosecutor, on 2nd February 2022 at about 4am, the complainant’s husband left for morning devotion while the accused persons rushed to the room where the three months old girl and her mother were and took the baby away.
Prosecution explained that the complainant shouted and chased the accused persons but could not get help for their arrest so later in the day, her husband returned to the house and heard the incident.
They went to the police station to lodge an official complaint.
Prosecution narrated further that the accused persons were later arrested but upon interrogation, both Stephen Appiah and Priscilla Owusua denied stealing the child.
However, the convict stated that she was indeed pregnant and gave birth to a baby girl at Trauma Hospital at Winneba on January 29, 2022.
Priscilla Owusua was later sent to Saint Dominic Hospital at Akwatia for medical examination and upon further interrogation, she confessed to stealing the child so she was charged and sent to court for prosecution.
– BY Daniel Bampoe