Lovebirds in court for stealing

Two persons were on Thursday arraigned at an Accra Circuit Court for conspiring and stealing an unregistered Honda CR-V 4X4 vehicle worth GHC 130,000.00, belonging to one Marshall Dugbatsey.

Ismail Bashiru, a Student and Abigail Asiedu, unemployed, both pleaded not guilty to the charges and were granted bail in the sum of GHc60000.00, with three sureties, each should be Civil Servants, earning a minimum of GHc400.00.

The court also ordered that the Identity documents and addresses of the sureties should be verified.

The case was adjourned to February 30.

Prosecuting, Police Chief Inspector Jubiok Michaels told the court that, the complainant is a Freight Forwarder and stays at Community 20, Lashibi, while Ismail is the boyfriend of Abigail, and they both stay together at Adegono, Nungua.

He said on February 10, at about 2100 hours, the complainant was returning from work at Tema, when he saw Abigail walking along the Sakumono-Tema road well dressed.

He said he stopped and proposed love to her and she agreed to the proposal, so the complainant took her to a guest house and booked a room, ostensibly to have sexual intercourse with her.

The prosecution said while in the room, Abigail took permission from the complainant to go out and get some soft drinks, which he obliged.

He told the court that, Abigail came back to the room and engaged in a telephone conversation with an unknown person for a while. She spoke in a language which the complainant did not understand.

Police Chief Inspector Michaels said, Abigail, after a while took permission again to go for water outside. The complainant, who was then resting on the bed, had put his car keys on a table in the room.

He said, she stealthily took the car key and stepped out of the room.

Few minutes later, Ismail, got down from a taxi, took the key from Abigail, and the two joined the car and sped off.

According to the prosecution, the complainant after waiting for a while became alarmed, he checked for the car keys and it was nowhere to be found.

He said when the complainant stepped out his car was also not at where he parked it.

A report was made to the police, and on February 12, the complainant went to DVLA Head office, Accra with police extract for the purpose of stopping anyone who would attempt registering the car.

Police Chief Inspector Michaels said as he was stepping out, the complainant saw a car similar to his, but had been tinted, he became curious and approached the driver, and it turned out to be his car which had been tinted as a disguise.

He said, Abigail, who was in the car with Ismail, on seeing the complainant vanished from the scene, but with the assistance of bystanders and policemen around Ismail was arrested.

He confessed to conspiring with Abigail to steal the car. On February 14, Abigail reported herself to the police and she was also arrested.