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Court convicts two shop attendants of stealing

Court convicts two shop attendants of stealing

Two shop attendants have pleaded guilty before the Accra Circuit Court to stealing items worth GH¢103,350 from their employer at the Makola Market in Accra.

The two — Alhassan Abubakari and Matthew Karl Amankwa — who were charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit crime and stealing, admitted to stealing 583 bags of rice, 86 boxes of cooking oil and 60 boxes of tomato puree from the shop owner.

The court, presided over by Mrs Jane Akweley Quaye, convicted Abubakari and Amankwa on their own pleas but deferred sentence to June 19, 2017.

Five traders who were alleged to have bought some of the stolen items were also arraigned on a charge of dishonestly receiving the stolen items.

The traders — Dramani Issifu, Philomena Anang, Esther Nii Quaye, Nana Ama Agyei and Liala Adams — pleaded not guilty to the charge and were granted bail in the sum of GH¢50,000 each, with two sureties, after their legal team pleaded for bail.

Stealing

The prosecutor, Chief Inspector Kwabena Adu, told the court that the complainant in the case was a businesswoman who operated a retail shop and warehouse at the Makola Market in Accra, while Abubakari and Amankwa were her employees.

In 2016, he said, the complainant had information that Abubakari and Amankwa had been stealing from the warehouse.

She, therefore, had Abubakari arrested and he confessed to committing the crime and mentioned Amankwa as his accomplice.

“Abubakari then mentioned the five traders as the people who normally bought the stolen goods. An independent auditor put the value of the stolen goods at GH¢103,350,’’ the prosecutor said.

 He added that the traders admitted to buying some of the stolen goods and they each refunded GH¢3,000 to the complainant.

Chief Inspector Adu said Abubakari and Amankwa also refunded GH¢1,800 and GH¢4,400, respectively.

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