Farmers jailed for stealing

A circuit court at Mpraeso presided over by Kwabena Assuman-Adu has sentenced two farmers from Asikam near Akwasiho in the Eastern Region, to five years imprisonment each for stealing one hundred million cedi Rex Roller, a road construction equipment and later selling it for 5.5 million cedis as scrap.

The farmers are Kwame Osei Bediako, 60, an ex-convict and Kwame Amakye, 38, who pleaded guilty to the charges of conspiracy to steal and stealing.

Prosecuting, Police Chief Inspector Alex Gyamera Acheampong told the court that in March 2004, one Ntim rented the roller from Mayakom Construction Company Limited in Accra for the rehabilitation of the Asikam-Mota road.

He said after the completion of the project, the machine was parked by the road side awaiting evacuation but one Kwasi BB, a son of Bediako, now on the run conspired with Bediako and Amakye and sold the roller to some scrap dealers from Accra at the cost of 5.5 million cedis.

The prosecutor said the scrap dealers came to Asikam to convey the roller to Accra where they dismantled it and sold it as scrap to the Tema Steel Works Company Limited.

He said the three scrap dealers including Kwame Addo, Alhasan Abudulai and Fuseni Gabriel who were also before the court on charges of dishonestly receiving pleaded not guilty and were granted 50 million cedis bail each to appear before the court on February 1, 2007 for trial.

Source: GNA