Alleged Leader Jailed For Stealing Water Meters

THE Osu District Magistrate Court in Accra has sentenced Victor Yaw Taylor, unemployed, to a years hard labour for stealing water meters belonging to the Ghana Water Company Limited.

Taylor, believed to be a leader of a meter stealing syndicate at Osu and its environs, was arrested on January 6, with 10 stolen water meters worth about GH¢200 from a number of houses at Osu.

Prosecuting, Assistant Superinten-dent of Police Patrick Morkeh, told the court presided over by Mrs. Doris Bimpong on Friday that Taylor was arrested by some residents while he was making away with the stolen meters he had illegally disconnected from the pipelines of the affected houses.

He said personnel of the La Police station rescued the accused from the angry mob that was threatening to lynch him.

He told the court that some residents at Osu, on January 6, found Taylor carrying a sack from one of the affected houses.

They stopped him and questioned him about the contents of the sack and when it was opened, 10 water meters were found.

The Osu and La Police Stations, he said have received numerous complaints of stolen meters and Taylor was suspected to be part of a syndicate which steals them.

Taylor who pleaded not guilty said in his defence that he found the items in the sack along the street and was sending it to the Police Station when the residents stopped him.

Emmanuel Essilfie-Conduah, Public Affairs Ma-nager of Aqua Vitans Rand (Accra East), told the Times later that the increasing reports of meter thefts were affect-ing the operations of the company.

He said a lot of water is spilled when the meters are cut which affects the com-pany’s revenue.

He urged the public to be vigi-lant and appealed to meter users to protect the devices from intruders.