Two men sentenced to a 25 years in jail for stealing a phone and GHC480

Two men have been handed hefty prison sentences after they were convicted of stealing a handbag from a woman containing her phone, personal items and a cash of GHC480.

The men, Promise Ime, 28 and Jordan Onah Ndubisi were given 15 and 10 years in jail respectively.

The two men pleaded guilty but a third person, Blessing Thompson, a caterer, who was charged with dishonestly receiving, pleaded not guilty saying he did not take part in the robbery.

Thompson was remanded into police custody to reappear on April 11, 2019.

Citinewsroom.com reports that prosecution told the court that the complainant, Beatrice Cudjoe works at the Kotoka International Airport and on March 12, 2019, at about 4am in the morning, she was on her way to work but on reaching a section near KAF International School, Ime and Ndubisi suddenly pounced on her.

Ime was said to have pulled a knife and threatened to stab the complainant if she failed to surrender her handbag.

According to the prosecution Ime then pushed the complainant and snatched her bag containing one Samsung S7 phone, cash in the sum of GH¢480.00, various Identity Cards and other personal belongings and fled.

However, on the same day, prosecution said at about 9 that same while the complainant was at the charge office of the Adenta police station submitting a statement, she saw the Ime and Ndubisi about 300 meters away and identified them to the police as those who robbed her.

Police confronted the two men and when a search was conducted, GHC250 and a Samsung S7 phone was found on Ndubisi.

Ime then led police to Thompson from whom GHC 120 was retrieved. The volume of the sentencing has however pushed Ghanaian actor and professed future politician, John Dumelo to call for alternative ways to punish wrongdoers.

Dumelo, in a tweet on Sunday, March 17, 2019, complained that sometimes, prisons and sentences were not commensurate with crimes but rather inuring to a heavier cost on society.