Family appear before court on motor bike theft

Akyem Swedru (E/R), July 21, GNA - The Akyem Swedru Circuit Court on Friday granted bail in the sum of 10 million cedis to a family for allegedly stealing two motorbikes.

The bikes belonged to the Birim North District branch of the National Commission For Civic Education (NCCE) at New Abirem. The accused persons, George Tawiah and his wife Rose Denkyiraa and their children, Kofi Tawiah, Kwabena Tuffour, Kwaku Boamah, Aboagyewaa Sarah, Felicia Acheamponmaa, Fidelia Owusu, Dickson Amankwah and Kwame Tuffour Opuni, pleaded not guilty to two counts of conspiracy to steal and stealing.

Prosecuting Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Abanga Caesar told the court, presided over by Mr Edward Kwame Bosompem Apenkwah, that the complainants, Mr Justus Solomon Danquah and Mr Prince Adinyira were the District Director of the NCCE and his assistant respectively. He said the complainants occupied the top floor of George Tawiah's storey building as their district office, while the accused persons lived on the ground floor.

On June 5 this year, Newmont Ghana Limited, a Gold Mining Company at New Abirem donated two Yamaha Motorbikes with registration numbers GT 3840 X and GT 3841 X to the NCCE.

ASP Caesar said the complainants later in the day sought permission from George Tawiah to allow them to keep the bikes in his hall he had been parking his.

Two days later at about 0330 hours, the fifth accused, Kwaku Boamah, and two others went to Mr Adinyira's house and informed him that the two bikes were stolen.

He said the complainant followed them to the scene where he saw that the two bikes were nowhere to be found, but that of George Tawiah was still there.

The case was reported to the Akyem Afosu Police, who after visiting the scene of crime, saw that all the doors and windows that the accused persons alleged the thieves opened were intact. When the police examined the main door leading to the hall, they realised that the lock was not damaged, which proved that the intruder or intruders were insiders.

After careful investigations all the accused persons were charged before the court.