Fashion Designer sentenced to a 10-year jail term

A fashion designer in Kumasi, who stole his employer’s €16,780 and later vacated his single room, to live in a plush hotel with his wife and kids, has been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment, by a Kumasi Circuit Court.

Francis Nyame, the convict, pleaded guilty to the charge of stealing and the Court presided over by Madam Mary Nsenkyire, convicted him on his own plea.

Giving details, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Hannah Acheampomaa, who prosecuted, told the Court that the complainant in the case, Richard Opoku Mensah, is also a fashion designer and owns a shop at the Asafo Market, in Kumasi.

Complainant’s uncle who was travelling to Germany gave him some cash amount of €19,390, to be distributed to his (uncle’s) clients, this, he in turn handed over to one of his workers, a witness in the case, for-safe-keeping.

The Court heard that on February 4, 2019, complainant instructed the witness to give €216.00 of the amount to one of his uncle’s customers and after having done that, the witness kept the remaining €16,780 in a bag, which he placed beside his chair at the shop.

Later, the witness went out and the accused taking advantage of his absence, cleverly wrapped the bag with a piece of cloth and went out with the excuse that he was taking it for knitting at a nearby shop.

The witness came back later and noticed that the bag containing the money was nowhere to be found.

He immediately informed complainant about it.

Complainant then reported the case to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ashanti Regional Police Command and acting on a tip-off on February 7, 2019, arrested the convict at a Hotel in Kumasi, where he had been residing with his wife and kids, after he stole the money.

During a search conducted by the police in both his own room and the hotel room, cash of €2,540 was found.

Convict admitted the offence in his caution statement and confessed that he converted some of the stolen money into cedis and spent.

After investigations, he was charged with the offence and subsequently arraigned before court.