An Accra Circuit Court presided over by His Honour, Mr. Aboagye Tandoh, has sentenced Prince Appiah, a private security guard to 25 years imprisonment with hard labour for robbery.
In reading the facts of the case, the Judge narrated that the Complainant is a banker staying at Tema Community 20 whilst the Accused person Prince Appiah was a private security guard living at community 20 with his accomplice friend, Yeboah, at large.
He explained that when the Accused was employed by the security company in January 2017, he was detailed to perform guard duties at the Complainant’s residence.
The Judge added that in the month of May 2017, the Accused was asked to perform night guard duties as the one performing it had resigned. This made the Accused know more about the Complainant’s movement.
According to His Honour, Mr. Tandoh, the Accused then planned with the said Yeboah to rob the Complainant.
“Accused then suggested to his accomplice that it would be ideal to rob the Complainant on a Friday since she always came home early every Friday”, the Judge said.
He explained that on 14th July, 2017, when the Accused reported for duty at about 5:30 pm, he went with self-designed facemasks and hid them in the security room without anyone noticing them.
The judge added that the Complainant arrived home at about 7:40 p.m. and the Accused opened the gate for her. The moment the Complainant entered her room, the Accused person immediately invited his accomplice to the house. They put mask on their faces and went into the room of the house help, Faustina Asamani, aged 53 years.
According to the Judge, they tied her mouth with a scarf to prevent her from shouting but as she was making noise, they used a pavement block to hit her head several times until she bled to death.
“Accused then took a kitchen knife and electrical cord whilst his accomplice held a T- baton, rushed to the living room of the Complainant and met her working on her laptop”, the judge added.
Mr. Aboagye Tandoh said that she was asked to keep quiet and surrender all the money she had else they would kill her.
The Complainant opened her bag and gave them US$1000.00, GH₵1,000.00, £500.00 and her Samsung Galaxy S7 mobile phone.
According to the judge, the Accused person and his accomplice threatened to strangle her with the electrical cord if she did not give them all her money. They matched her to her room upstairs and robbed her of her jewelleries, 3 Rolex wrist watches, ATM card and an unspecified amount of pound sterling. They also forced the Complainant to give them the ATM card password which she obliged.
Yeboah then asked the Accused person to keep watch of the Complainant while he went to town to withdraw money with the card.
The Judge explained that the Accused person then took advantage of the absence of Yeboah, searched the room and managed to get some Rands.
“Later, Accused took the Complainant to the room of the deceased, showed her the lifeless body, and then told the Complainant that if his accomplice returned from town she will also suffer the same fate”, the Judge read.
Mr. Aboagye Tandoh added that at about 11 pm, when Yeboah was not arriving, the Accused person decided to call him, so the Complainant had the chance to enter her room and locked the door.
According to the Judge, she raised an alarm and Accused took to his heels.
A report was made and police together with Crime Scene Team from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) at the Ghana Police Service Headquarters, visited the scene and the body of the deceased was removed and deposited at the Police Hospital mortuary.
Police had information that the Accused person had gone to hide in his village in the Ashanti region and he was arrested at his hideout at Biakwaso, near Ashanti Bekwai.
Before sentencing, the Accused prayed the court to tamper justice with mercy.
The Judge said that the sentence was to serve as a deterrent to others who are engaging or plan to engage in such activities.
After his sentencing, the Accused person smiled with his head bowed in an unremorseful way.
Source: Ghanajustice/F.Kyeremanteng
