Ziblim Innusah
A Tamale Circuit presided over by Senyo Amedahe has slapped a four-year jail term on a 29-year old self-styled businessman, Ziblim Innusah, for swindling three cops under the guise of a business partnership.
The convict, in his bid to defraud the unsuspecting cops, struck acquaintance with them before rolling out a business proposal which they readily accepted in view of the juicy rewards attached to the said deal.
According to details of the business proposal, they were expected to each procure motor tricycles popularly called “motor King” for commercial purposes and hand them over to him to manage since their busy schedules could not permit them to man the business themselves.
Per the agreement each tricycle was to bring GHC90 daily for services rendered to clients at the Aboabo Timber market in Tamale a notable area where these bikes operated.
The three unnamed cops bought into his scandalous idea and secured the tricycles at GHC2,500 each and handed them to him as agreed with the hope of recouping their investments as well as maximizing profits.
Three weeks into the operations, the purported manager who also claimed to be a timber merchant failed to show up and render accounts to the owners of the bikes as contained in their agreement.
All efforts to trace his whereabouts proved futile as all his mobile phone numbers were reported to have been switched off and friends were reluctant to give clues to his whereabouts.
The police officers later gathered that the accused secretly sold out the tricycles and for fear of being arrested and prosecuted went into hiding at a nearby village when news had gone round that he was being sought after by the cops.
Luck however eluded him when he was unexpectedly pounced on at his hideout by the cops three months later and whisked to the police station and interrogated on the whereabouts of the motor tricycles.
In response, he admitted selling the tricycles claiming he run into some financial difficulties and had to sell them in order to offset his debts.
The worried cops doubted his claim and demanded the tricycles and full accumulated sales from the work it had done.
He was officially charged with the offence and arraigned before the Circuit Court. On his first appearance he pleaded with the trial judge to temper justice with mercy and allow him time to settle his indebtedness to the cops.
The court accordingly obliged to his request but he later failed to fulfil his part of the bargain after pleading guilty to the charge of stealing and defrauding by false pretences.
The court, based on his own plea, sentenced him to a four-year prison term with hard labour.
The complainants who were still not satisfied with the judgement have promised to pursue a civil suit to retrieve their monies and tricycles.
From Stephen Zoure, Tamale