Court jails labourer 20 years for robbery

A 28-year-old labourer was on Thursday sentenced to 20 years imprisonment in hard labour for robbery.

Seth Botchway, initially denied the offence but later pleaded guilty to robbing the complainant on two separate occasions.

Prosecuting, Police Inspector Samuel Ahiabor told the court presided over by Mrs Ruby Naa Aryeetey, that the complainant, a retired Educationist isa resident of Airport West, Dzorwulu in Accra.

He said Botchway, a former house help of the complainant is a construction labourer who lived at Adabraka, also a suburb of Accra.

Inspector Ahiabor said on April 20, 2018, the convict, armed with a knife went to the complainant’s premises, where he forced her to write a cheque of GH?2,500.00, which the complainant’s son then went to cash which the complainant handed over to the accused.

The Prosecution said the convict also robbed the complainant of her cellular phone and left.

He said on May 27, 2018, at about 2300 hours, Botchway in a face mask and armed with a knife went to the complainant’s residence, held her hostage and ordered her to give him GH?10,000.00 or would rape or kill her.

The prosecution said the convict forced the complainant to strip naked and filmed her and ordered her to sign a cheque of GH?2,000.00 which he collected from the complainant.

Inspector Ahiabor said Botchway forcibly removed GH?138.00 from the complainant’s bag and also seized her Samsung mobile phone but this time, luck eluded him when the complainant’s son got wind of it and made a distress call to the police, who responded swiftly leading to his arrest.

He said the Police retrieved the knife and the complainant’s two mobile phones as well as the GH?138.00 from him.

He said Botchway’s Techno phone which he used to do the filming was also retrieved by the police.

The prosecution said Botchway was subsequently charged and after further investigations, he was put before court.