An Accra Circuit Court on Monday sentenced a Caretaker, Kofi Aonteng Boateng to 10 years imprisonment in hard labour for abetment of crime to wit robbery.
Kofi was arraigned for abetting with three persons now at large, but pleaded not guilty to the offence.
However the court presided over by Mr Aboagye Tandoh found him guilty of the offence after trial and sentenced him accordingly.
He said the court established through the trial that Kofi, who knew the complainant’s bag contained money had foreknowledge of the robbery and that he also provided the necessary information of the contents of the bag and assisted the robbers to rob the complainant.
In sentencing the court took into consideration the four months already spent in custody, the plea for mercy by Counsel for the accused as well as other mitigating factors.
“The court agrees that sentencing him to the minimum term is in itself deterrent enough and would serve as a transformation for him. He is therefore sentenced to 10 years imprisonment in hard labour.”
Earlier the prosecution, Police Chief Inspector Kwabena Adu told the court that the complainant is a Nurse who lives in the United States of America and came to Ghana on June 30, while the convict is a caretaker of a house belonging to one Dora Somuah at Oyarifa.
He said in June 2017, the complainant’s father rented a three bedroom apartment on the first floor of the storey building of the said house for the complainant on her arrival to Ghana.
He said Dora introduced the convict to the complainant and asked him to surrender the keys of said apartment to complainant.
On June 30, Kofi opened the various rooms in the apartment to the complainant and assisted her convey her personal effects into it. In the process, he requested to help the complainant carry her hand bag containing an amount of US$ 14,000.00 and some valuable documents but she declined.
According to the prosecution, when the complainant moved into the apartment, Kofi kept two of the keys to the main door leading to the apartment and handed over the rest to the complainant.
He told the court that on July 2, at about 0200 hours, the convict used the key in his possession, to open the main door to the complainant’s apartment to enable three robbers now at large, among them was one armed with a metal cutter, gained access to her apartment.
Mr Adu said in the process the robbers covered the complainant’s mouth and demanded only the hand bag, which the convict had earlier attempted to carry earlier when the complainant was packing in.
He said the robbers spotted the said hand bag in the room, took it together with some jewelry and escaped through the main door which was already opened.
He said the complainant followed them with shouting and from the top of the building and saw Kofi standing in the compound as the robbers fled.
The complainant prompted the convict to assist apprehend the robbers but he said that since he was not armed, there was nothing he could do.
A report was made to the Police at Ayi Mensah and Kofi was arrested.
The prosecution said during investigation, the said handbag was recovered without the money from a nearby house through which the robbers escaped.
