Cop arraigned for robbery

General Lance Corporal Benjamin Terkutey, a policeman, on Friday appeared at an Accra Circuit Court on the charges of conspiracy to commit crime and robbery.

Benjamin was alleged to have conspired and robbed one Xiameng Shen, a Chinese and Engineer with the Chinese Embassy of an amount of Ghc500.00, two mobile phones and an Ipad.

The court, presided over by Mr. Francis Obiri, remanded the accused person into prison custody to reappear on May 14, after he pleaded guilty on the count of conspiracy and not guilty on the count of robbery.

Assistant State Attorney, Fred Kusim Awindaogo, presenting the facts of the case, told the court that on August 4, 2013, the complainant Xiameng was driving a Chinese Embassy pick-up with registration number CD 2665 X, from Spintex towards the Chinese Embassy Office at the Airport Residential Area.

He said on board were three other colleagues, Fang Zhongpeng, Fujiang Xue and Xu Minghua, who are all Chinese nationals and engineers at the Chinese Embassy.

He said on reaching a section of the spintex road at the Tetteh Quarshie interchange, Benjamin and one Patrick Cobby now at large in an unregistered Hyundai Saloon car driven by Patrick crossed the complainant and his colleagues.

The prosecution said Patrick was wearing civilian clothing while Benjamin was in a police uniform and wielding an AK 47 rifle.

Assistant State Attorney Awindaogo said Benjamin entered the complainant’s vehicle and ordered him and his colleagues to all sit at the back of the vehicle, after which he handcuffed them.

He told the court that the accused person then drove the complainant’s car towards the La area, and took Ghc500.00, two mobile phones, and an Ipad from the vehicle, after which he ordered them to get down from the vehicle and drove off.

He said the accused persons drove past the Osu Advent Press snap checkpoint, not long after the complainants came in a taxi to the check point and reported the incident to the police.

Assistant State Attorney, Awindaogo, said the police on duty reported the incident to their control room. The information with the particulars of the vehicle was relayed to all patrol teams and snap checkpoints around.

He told the court that the accused persons sensing danger abandoned the complainant’s vehicle at the Osu post office, but Patrick’s mobile phone was found in the vehicle.

He said on August 9, 2013, Patrick, upon a tip off from his wife that policemen had been to the house, called Benjamin to inform him and absconded but Benjamin was invited to the Osu District Police Station on August 3, and an investigation caution statement was taken from him.