A mother of nine and drinking bar operator on Wednesday broke down in tears when the Accra Circuit Court sentenced her to 11 years with hard labour for selling alcohol mixed with Indian hemp to the public.
Ama Forson, who stood quietly in the dock while her sentence was being read, started crying uncontrollably immediately the Judge, Mr Aboagye Tandoh, pronounced the number of years she was to spend in incarceration.
Her tears were such that a police officer on duty in the courtroom had to tell her to control herself because she was disturbing the court.
The convict was charged with unlawfully possessing narcotic drugs.
She pleaded not guilty to the charge and in her defence denied having knowledge of the drugs.
Sentence
The court, however, in its sentence, said the convict, apart from having custody of the drugs, knew the drugs were Indian hemp.
“I have examined the evidence and have concluded that the drugs found on the accused person’s premises indeed belonged to her. She cannot, therefore, deny knowledge of it,’’ the judge said.
Facts
The facts of the case were that on September 29, 2015, the New Weija Police arrested the convict in a swoop at Bortianor in the Ga Central Municipality. The police, during their search on her premises, retrieved quantities of dried leaves suspected to be Indian hemp from her black ladies’ handbag.
The search also revealed a wine bottle containing dried leaves suspected to be Indian hemp and liquid.
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By: Daily Graphic/Ghana