The convict in cuffs
By Hillary Thompson, Accra
The Mpraeso Circuit Court has jailed a fuel station manager, Ernest Boakye, of the Kwahu-Tafo branch of Infin Ghana Limited for 120 months.
Ernest Boakye was sentenced for stealing GH¢398,545 belonging to his employer.
The 30-year-old was slapped with the sentence after the court held that the prosecution proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt to establish his guilt.
In May 2021, the administrator of Infin Ghana Limited noticed some discrepancies in the pay-in-slips by Boakye as against the bank statements, according to the prosecution.
On June 16, 2021, officers of the company assessed the sales by Boakye and realised that he had stolen GHC92,457 after which his arrest was effected.
Also, the court said it could not ignore the fact that Boakye committed the crime in 2021 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when businesses were laying off workers and people were in distress.
“The complainant company did not lay off the convict. He still kept his job to enable him to take care of himself and his family. Instead of reciprocating this gesture by working diligently and with integrity, he rather decided to betray the trust of the company and stole such a huge sum of money from them,” the presiding judge, Stephen Kumi said.
