Driver jailed 10 years for robbing Chinese master

The Tarkwa Circuit Court has sentenced a 32-year-old driver, to 10 years imprisonment in hard labour for robbing his employer of more than GH¢70,000.00.

The convict, Kwadwo Asare, pleaded guilty to the charge and was convicted on his own plea.

Prosecuting Detective Chief Inspector Oscar Amponsah, told the court, presided over by Mr Emmanuel Bart-Plange Brew, that the complainant is a Chinese national and a small scale miner.

Inspector Amponsah said on November 2 this year, around 0600 hrs, the complainant travelled to Kumasi in the Ashanti Region with the convict, who is his driver.

He said while in Kumasi, the complainant withdrew GH¢70,000.00 from the bank to enable him pay his workers and use the rest to transact business.

Chief Inspector Amponsah said the convict on seeing the money called one Kwabena Yeboah in Obuasi and arranged with him to follow them to Asankrangwa so they could rob the complainant and share the money.

He said Yeboah also recruited two others and they left Obuasi to the destination to lay ambush at an area near the complainant’s mining site.

Inspector Amponsah said the moment the convict drove to the spot, he slowed down the vehicle and Yeboah and his accomplices attacked the complainant with two locally manufactured pistols and made away with the money, four mobile phones worth GH¢10,000.00 and the keys to the vehicle.

He said Asare, who pretended to be frightened intentionally abandoned the vehicle and hid himself in the bush and after the robbery, he came around and met the complainant and his brothers still waiting at the scene.

He said on November 3 the convict led the complainant to the Asankrangwa police station and made a report and the vehicle was towed.

Inspector Amponsah said both the complainant and Asare were later invited by the police for questioning and during interrogation the complainant explained that while they embarked on the journey Asare made several phone calls and was mentioning Obuasi and Asankrangwa respectively.

He said when Asare was probed further by the police he confessed to have masterminded the robbery and led the police to Obuasi to enable them arrest Yeboah and his accomplices, but they were not able to trace them.

The court has, however, issued a bench warrant for the arrest of Kwabena Yeboah, who is an illegal miner.