Eighteen year-old unemployed Baba Salihu has been sentenced to 24 months imprisonment by the Shama Magistrate Court for stealing cables belonging to the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) at Inchaban in the Shama District of the Western Region.
The suspect, according to the Western and Central Regions Communications Officer of the Ghana Water Company, Nana Yaw Barima Barnie, was caught at their station at Inchaban on Saturday, September 23.
He indicates that at about 10:00 am on that day, a senior Technical Assistant at the station, Solomon Kumornu, during his usual rounds at the station heard an unusual noise in one of their laboratories.
He tactfully traced the noise and found Salihu lying on the ceiling to avoid being arrested.
“He traced the noise to the ceiling of the laboratory, thinking it was reptiles that were creating the noise, only to find Salihu lying prostrate on the ceiling to avoid detection.
“It came to light that he had already removed all the cables in the walls and was in the process of removing those on the ceiling when the noise caught the attention of Mr. Kuwornu. He was subsequently arrested and sent to the Inchaban police station the same day,” he told Nhyiraba Paa Kwesi Simpson, the host of Connect FM’s Omanbapa morning show.
The suspect initially told the court presided over by Ms. Patience Ablorh that he was 17 years old.
He was then asked to provide his Ghana Card, which revealed that he was 18 years old. The court found him guilty and sentenced him to 24 months in prison.
The suspect is said to have about two weeks ago paraded before the court after breaking into a container shop and was fined. He was able to pay the fine and escaped a six-month jail term.
Nana Yaw Barnie indicated that his outfit is satisfied with the ruling of the court.
He believes the sentence will serve as a deterrent to others who have been stealing cable from the company, making water distribution a challenge in the region.
“We in Ghana Water Limited are quite satisfied with the swift and successful prosecution of this case as it will send a strong signal to his possible accomplices that GWCL is not a company to be taken for granted,” he indicated.
By Eric Nana Gyetuah|Connect FM|3news.com|Ghana