The Kyebi Circuit Court in the Abuakwa South Municipality of the Eastern Region, presided by Peter Oppong-Boahen has sentenced a scrap dealer, Alhassan Zimblim, 41, to 20years imprisonment for the offence of stealing contrary to section 124(1) of Criminal offences Act 1960 (Act 29).
The case lasted for over a year when the first accused person pleaded not guilty and the case went for into a full trial.
The first accused person is 41-year old scrap dealer residing at Sukura, Accra, while the second accused person is a 30-year old spare parts dealer, Mubarrack Hussein also residing at Aboabo Kumasi.
The first accused Alhassan Zimblim was found guilty of the charges levelled against him and sentenced to 20years in hard labour, while the second accused person Mubarrack Hussein who was charged with dishonestly receiving property contrary to section 146 of Criminal Offence Act (ACT 29/60) was discharged after a submission of no case by his counsel, Seidu Nasigri.
According to the prosecution, the complainant Salifu Kassim is a driver residing at Pekyi No.2 in Kumasi.
In January 2021, the complainant was in charge of a Man Diesel trailer truck with registration number AW 3814-13 loaded with cashew from Kumasi to Accra but on reaching Paradise Resort, the truck engine broke down.
As a result, the cashew was reloaded into a different truck to Accra.
The truck was parked within the yard of Paradise Resort awaiting a new engine to be fixed.
On 14th March, 2021, the first accused person managed to tow the truck to Accra and cut them into spare parts
On 5th April, 2021, the first accused person sold the engine, axel, gearbox, and trailer flat body at a cost of GHC60,000 to the second accused person.
The second accused person after buying the same sent the engine and, axel gearbox to his spare parts shop at Kumasi -Suame Magazine, and the trailer’s flat body was sent to Ashaiman.
On 6th March, 2021 the complainant in the company of his caretaker, Frederick Ofori reported the case to the police.
On 8th, March, 2021, a mechanic who has been working on the said truck engine visited the second accused person’s shop to buy spare parts and in the process found the engine belonging to the said truck in the shop.
Witness confronted the second accused person and he mentioned the first accused person who sold the said parts to him.
On 13th April, 2021 upon interrogation, the second accused person gave the police a hint of the hideout of the first accused person, where he was traced to Accra Central and was arrested and brought to the Bunso police station.
In the course of the investigation, the above exhibit was retrieved from the second accused person at Kumasi and Ashaiman respectively.
After investigation, the first accused person was charged with the offences and was sentenced.
– BY Daniel Bampoe