A 28-year-old scrap dealer, Joshua Asamoah, has been arrested for attempting to steal some components of a transformer of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) at the Princess Marie Louise (Children’s) Hospital in Accra.
Asamoah was spotted by a passer-by immediately he opened the transformer and attempted to remove the components, a fuse and a bar link.
The passer-by raised an alarm and sensing danger, Asamoah tried to flee but was caught and handed over to the police.
The case, which occurred last Friday at the entrance of the Children’s Hospital, has since been handed over to the Accra Central Police Command.
Lance Corporal Godwin Asare, who confirmed the arrest to the Daily Graphic, said Asamoah would be arraigned after the police had completed their investigations.
Rampant theft
Speaking to the Daily Graphic after the arrest, the Public Relations Officer of the Accra West branch of the ECG, Mr Eric Asante, said during the last two months, the company had recorded a massive theft of its transformers.
He said areas where cases of the theft had earlier occurred included Tesano, GNTC, Adabraka, Tudu and TUC, for which reason he said the “ECG had been on the lookout for the thieves”.
Explaining what the thieves used the fuse and the bar link for, Mr Asante said the two components in the transformer contained copper that was used to manufacture ornaments.
“They sell it to their counterparts for huge amounts of money,” he added.
Meanwhile, Mr Asante said, the activities of those thieves continued to jeopardise the work of the ECG.
In another development, Kwadwo Baffoe Donkor reports from Kumasi that five people had been found guilty by the Kumasi Circuit Court, presided over by Mr John Ekow Mensah, for illegally connecting electricity to their residences.
But for the frail appearance of one of them, coupled with the fact that one of them was also a nursing mother, they would have been jailed to serve as deterrent to others, the court said.
Instead, the court bonded the accused persons to be of good behaviour for six months or serve a year’s jail term.
They are Ama Achiaa Bonsu, Mary Boateng, Ramatu Mahama, Kofi Boateng and Emmanuel Affar Awuah.
Facts
The prosecutor, Chief Inspector Timothy Amoako, told the court that the five people were residents of the Suame District of the ECG.
He said last month, during a monitoring exercise by the company, the five, who had earlier been disconnected for non payment of bills, were found to have reconnected power supply and were as such, consuming power illegally.
Chief Inspector Amoako said they were arrested and handed over to the police.
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Source: Graphic Online