An Accra Circuit Court has sentenced a 21-year-old labourer to 17 years imprisonment in hard Labour for attempting to snatch a taxi cab from it’s driver.
Emmanuel Mensah also caused injury to the complainant which resulted in the victim losing a considerable amount of blood.
However, he denied the offense with the explanation that he did not intend to rob the taxi driver but wanted to run away during the journey since he had no money to pay the fare.
Thus, a struggle ensued between him and the cabbie where he punched him resulting in the complainant’s bleeding but prosecution asserts that he rather used an implement on the victim.
The Court in sentencing the convict considered his age, the fact that he was a first time offender, spending four months in police custody, the seriousness of the crime and the injury caused to the complainant.
Police Inspector Samuel Ahiabor told the Court presided over by Afia Owusua Appiah earlier that, Ekow Nkrumah is the taxi driver and complainant, who lives at Gbawe, whilst the convict lives at Korle Gonno all suburbs in Accra.
He said on April 8, 2020 at Korle Bu, another suburb of Accra, Mr Nkrumah was operating his Mazda Demo taxi cab with the registration number GR 4984-18, but about 7pm, Mensah hired him from Korle Gonno to Zoti which is near the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.
Inspector Ahiabor said when they got to the Korle Bu Mortuary Road Traffic Light, Mensah ordered the driver to hand over the ignition keys to him but the driver refused.
He said Mensah who was directly behind the driver’s seat attacked the driver several times with a sharp object.
Prosecution said Mensah sustained cuts at the back of his right ear and lower lip and bled profusely, his shirt soaked in blood, but he managed to drive the car to a nearby police snap check point, where he raised an alarm.
Inspector Ahiabor said personnel at the check point rushed to his aid, apprehended Mensah and handed him over to the Kaneshie Police for investigations.
The prosecution said Mensah told the Court that there was no job during the lockdown, needing money to buy food, he decided to go to one of his masters for money, hence, his hiring of the taxi cab.
“On the way, I sought to alight because I did not have money to pay the fare but the driver refused to stop and started driving recklessly, so I punched him but I did not use any object on him,” he told the Court.
GNA