Court jails notorious thief for stealing bicycle

Cape Coast, Jan 23, GNA- A 19-year-old unemployed man, Kwesi Awortwe, who resides at Kakum, a community, five kilometres away from Cape Coast, was on Friday sentenced to four years imprisonment by a Cape Coast circuit court for stealing a bicycle. Awortwe who was described by the police as "notorious" pleaded guilty.

Passing sentence, Mr. Logoh observed that the convict had been compelled by circumstances to engage in stealing and since he is unemployed, the sentence would enable him to learn a trade in prison. Police Inspector Hope Azasoo, told the court that on December 25, last year, the police at a barrier near the Brimsu Junction stopped a taxi-cab that was carrying a bicycle in its booth and Awortwe who was on the vehicle claimed ownership.

He said Awortwe could not tell the police how he came by the bicycle. Police investigations showed that he stole the bicycle from a house at the university of Cape Coast.

At the same court, three drivers were fined a total of 800,000.00 cedis for violating various traffic regulations.

They are Kweku Anafo 38, Kwaku Issah 22 and Paul Nkrumah 25. They all pleaded guilty to charges ranging from causing road obstruction, failing to carry driving licences, and picking passengers at unauthorised places.

Anafo and Nkrumah were fined 300,000 cedis each while Issah was to pay 200,000 cedis. They would each go to prison for two months in default.

Police Inspector Oheneba Boateng told the court that MTTU personnel who were on their normal patrol duties arrested the drivers on January 20 at Kotokuraba.

He said all the drivers picked passengers at unauthorised places thereby causing road obstruction. They could also not produce their driving licences when asked by the police.