An ice cream seller, who allegedly attempted to steal a six-year-old girl at a lorry station near the 37 Military Hospital, has been sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment by an Accra Circuit Court.
The convict, Sie Kwadwo Amadu, was accused of attempting to steal the minor in December last year after giving her biscuits and a soft drink.
He was hauled before the court in January 2018 and charged with one count of child stealing to which he pleaded not guilty
He was remanded in police custody during the trial and the prosecution was able to prove beyond reasonable doubts the charges levelled against him.
At the end of the trial, the court presided over by Rita Abrokwa Doko found Sie Kwadwo Amadu guilty of the crime and sentenced him to 10 years’ imprisonment.
The facts of the case as read at the beginning of the trial by Sergeant Opoku Aniagyei, who held the brief of Chief Inspector Kofi Atimbire, was that the complainant is a trader operating a drinking spot at the lorry station and the mother of the victim.
The prosecution said on December 26 last year at about 9 am, Amadu went to the lorry station to eat at a food joint near the complainant’s drinking spot.
He said after eating, Amadu saw the victim playing at the entrance to her mother’s drinking spot.
According to the prosecution, Amadu approached the victim, held her hand and took her away without the knowledge of her mother.
The prosecution said the convict then bought some biscuits and Kalypo (a soft drink) for the victim.
Sergeant Opoku Aniagyei told the court that the complainant later started looking for her child upon which one Obaa Yaa Amaponsah, a witness in the case, told her that she saw Amadu going out with the victim.
“A search was conducted around the lorry station and its environs but the victim and the accused person could not be traced,’’ the court heard.
He said a report was later made to the Airport Police but not quite long, the police at Nima informed their colleagues at Airport that they were having custody of the victim.
The prosecution said the complainant in the company of the police identified the victim at the Nima Police Station.
Sergeant Opoku Aniagyei said the police at Nima noted that one Mohammed Nurudeen, a witness in the matter, informed them that he saw the accused person at about 10 am on that same day at Kawukudi Mosque at Nima, pulling the victim with force and ordering her to follow him.
The prosecution said Nurudeen, suspecting foul play, raised the alarm after a series of queries to Amadu and then rescued the victim.
Sensing danger, Amadu took to his heels but returned to the lorry station later in the day to pick up his bicycle and bag. But he was arrested by the youth in the area who handed him over to the police.
