Steel bender jailed for robbing a sick woman

A steel bender who robbed a sick woman of her bag containing her medication, GHC60.00, mobile phone and Voter Identity Card, has been sentenced to 15 years imprisonment by an Adentan Circuit Court.

The victim was believed to be returning from a hospital when the incident occurred

Kweku Okyere, 27, charged with robbery, pleaded guilty.

The court presided over by Mrs Sedinam Awo Balokah convicted Okyere on his own plea.

Prosecuting, Chief Inspector Maxwell Lanyo narrated that Ruby Afrim, a trader and the complainant, resides at Shashie while the accused now a convict lives at Madina.

Chief Inspector Lanyo said on March 16, 2022, at about 18:30 hours Okyere suddenly attacked and held the complainant handbag at Shaishie bus stop.

Prosecution said a struggle ensued between the two and Okyere pushed the complainant into a nearby gutter. The complainant sustained minor injuries on her forehead whilst Okyere absconded with her bag.

According to the prosecution, the complainant’s bag contained an amount of GHC60.00, a mobile phone, a Voter ID card, and prescribed drugs.

Prosecution said some street boys who have been hawking in the traffic along the road saw the accused from a distance and chased him up.

The Prosecution said during the chase, Okyere went and hide under a big culvert and his pursuers smoked him out and saw in Okyere’s possession the complainant’s bag.

Prosecution said the street boys subjected Okyere to severe beatings until he became weak and left him to his fate.

The prosecution said two other men however rescued Okyere and sent him to the Airport Police who took Okyere to the Police Hospital for treatment.

The prosecution said Okyere was at that juncture helpless, had multiple marks of assault on his head, back, legs, and a swollen hand with blood oozing from his injuries.

Prosecution said on that same day, the complainant heard about the arrest of Okyere, and she went to the Police Station to lodge a complaint.

Chief Inspector Lanyo said Okyere in his investigation caution statement admitted the offence but explained that after he succeeded in robbing the complainant of her bag, the mob that beat him took the bag and its content away.