2 persons in the dock for robbing a taxi cab

Two persons have been arraigned before an Accra Circuit Court for a number of offences that lead to the loss of a Kia Pride Taxi Cab with registration number GS 8649 Z, being driven by one Kow Quansah, a driver.

Gabriel Awuyeh, a driver, is accused of robbing the Kia Pride taxi cab valued at GH¢4,500 at Winneba in the Central Region on January 19, 2009, and later on in the day he was seen in possession of a forged document of the taxi cab that reads GE 5954 X, at Kade in the Eastern Region.

Atta Agyemang, a trader, on the other hand, is accused of abetting with Awuyeh to commit robbery in November 2008, in Accra, and further forged a Driver and Licensing authority document.

The two are standing trial on four counts of robbery, possession of forged document, abetment of crime and forgery of document.

They pleaded not guilty and have been remanded by the court, presided over by Mrs. Ivy Heward-Mills to re-appear on February 24, 2009.

Giving the facts of the case before the court, ASP George Abavelim noted that in October 2008, Awuyeh went to Winneba and posed as a detective on enquiries in the town and subsequently engaged the services of Kow Quansah, who was driving a Kia Pride taxi cab with registration number GS 8649 Z, for his rounds.

The prosecutor told the court that in the course of the rounds, Awuyeh pulled a pistol on the Quansah at the North Campus of the University College of Education, Winneba, and ordered him to surrender the car key and run for his life or be killed.

According to the prosecutor, the driver of the taxi cab obliged and Awuyeh bolted with the car, and after a successful operation changed the original colour of the car from yellow and white, to yellow and blue, and with the assistance of Agyemang, managed to re-register the taxi cab with a new number GE 5954 X, and latter sold it at GH¢3,500.

Prosecution intimated that when enquiries were made on January 1, 2009, Awuyeh was arrested at Kade and a search conducted in his room revealed a forged registration document covering the new number made for the taxi cab.

“The accused led the police to Asuom to retrieve the stolen car,” ASP Abavelim indicated to the court, noting that Awuyeh led the police to effect the arrest of Agyemang, who the former claimed registered the cab for a fee of GH¢500.

Prosecution held that Awuyeh confessed snatching other taxi cabs from other drivers and sold them to people at Kade, stating that the police had managed to retrieve four other taxi cabs snatched by the accused and sold in the area.

The prosecutor indicating that investigations were still on-going, noted that the forged document of one of the taxi cabs with the picture of Agyemang posed as the former owner were founder in one of the cabs retrieved.

“The 2nd accused had transferred ownership to the new buyer”, the prosecution informed the court.