Battery thief gets 24 months

Thomas Ofori, unemployed, was on Monday, January 13, 2014 handed a 24-month jail term by a Kumasi Circuit Court, presided over by Mr D. W. P. Amedior, for stealing six heavy duty truck batteries worth GH¢2,100 belonging to Nato Company.

Ofori pleaded guilty to the charge of stealing and was convicted on his own plea.

He was arrested while on board a taxi on December 18, last year around 4:30 a.m. by police personnel during a snap check at Santasi near the Opoku Ware Senior High School (OWASS) in Kumasi.

Presenting the facts of the case, Chief Inspector Rose Essuman told the court that on that fateful day, personnel from the mobile patrol unit were on duty around OWASS conducting snap checks.

She said during the exercise, the personnel stopped the cab on which Ofori was on board and when it was searched, four of the heavy duty truck batteries, which were suspected to have been stolen, were found hidden in the car.

Chief Inspector Essuman said Ofori was arrested and during interrogation, he admitted to have stolen the batteries from the said company and when the director of the company was contacted, he confirmed that the company had suffered series of battery thefts in the past.

However, during interrogation, Ofori disclosed that he  had stolen only six out of the 36 batteries that the company claimed had been stolen.