Street light thief sentenced to three years imprisonment

The Ashaiman Circuit Court has sentenced Emmanuel Arthur, a 19-year-old, unemployed to three years imprisonment in hard labour for dishonestly appropriating six pieces of streetlight bulbs and other electrical accessories valued at GH₵79, 021.00.

The Court presided over by Mr Richard Delali sentenced the accused after he pleaded guilty to the charges of stealing and causing damage to metal electric poles property of Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).

Chief Inspector Samuel Apreweh, prosecuting, said, on February 10, 2021, an Ashaiman Police Patrol team code-named Alpha Papa one, arrested and brought to the Police Station the accused who resides at Ashaiman Fiter-line.

The prosecution said the team reported that at about 0530 hours on the day in question the team had a report that someone was on the Accra-Tema Motorway close to the Adjei Kojo under bridge cutting off some electricity cables on the poles along the motorway.

The prosecution said the team proceeded immediately to the scene and saw the accused in the act. He was immediately arrested with three of the metal electric poles, a big spanner, and six bolts and nuts in his possession and brought to the Ashaiman Police station for investigations.

Chief Inspector Apreweh said it was discovered during investigations that the accused had been removing electric metal poles along the motorway and selling them as scraps to dealers at Ashaiman Fiter- line.

He said the accused led the Police to the premises of the said scrap dealer called Kwaku, but he was unavailable, where the accused further told Police that it was the said scrap dealer who recruited him and provided him with the tools to commit the crime.

The prosecution said the police has begun an operation to effect the arrest of the accomplices of the accused.

GNA