ECG cable thief jailed 6 years
A man who stole Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) cables at Tegbi in the Volta Region, has been jailed six years by the Keta Circuit Court.
Bessa Achikpoh and his accomplice, Daniel Ashie, were arrested at Anloga in the Keta Municipality when they tried to sell the cables worth thousands of cedis to a scrap dealer for Ghc1,500.
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The court presided over by Mr. Kwame Polley found him guilty of three counts of conspiracy to commit a crime, causing unlawful damage and stealing property belonging to ECG.
The trial last four years.
He was convicted and sentenced to six years on each count which is to run concurrently.
The court noted that the prosecution through its four witnesses established a case against the convict.
Convict pleaded for mitigation
Although the convict pleaded with the court to deal leniently with him as his wife had just been delivered of a baby, the court took into consideration the financial loss incurred by ECG to re-fix the cables to restore power to the areas affected and the un-quantified inconveniences and consequences on the customers and arrived at the sentence.
The judge said the sentence deter others from engaging in such illegal acts which affected the fortunes of ECG.
The judge further issued a bench warrant for the arrest of Daniel Ashie who has since been at large.
Facts of the case
According to the prosecution led by Chief Inspector Valentine Adabrah on December 24, 2014, at Tegbi in the Volta region, the convict and his accomplice stole and damaged low voltage copper conductors belonging to ECG.
Officials of ECG had earlier lodged a complaint with the police concerning the stolen cables.
The prosecutor said a team of police officers upon a tip-off laid ambush and arrested the two who had in their possession pieces of cables they had gone to weigh at a scrap dealer’s shop and were about to sell.
However, his accomplice managed to escape arrest.
In his defence, the culprit denied the offence and explained to the court that he happened to be at the scrap dealers shop upon an invitation by his friend to accompany him to Anfoega.