A Circuit Court in Accra on Friday sentenced an unemployed man to 20 years imprisonment for robbing his half-sister of a Kia Sportage car after brandishing a knife at her.
Ebenezer Quaye aka Ataa Quaye, who was charged with robbery, pleaded guilty to the charges.
Quaye was exposed after the mask he was wearing fell off when he subjected her to severe beatings and ransacking her room.
His accomplice Abdul Tahidu Latif who was charged with abetment of crime was remanded into Police custody till September 2.
The court, however, asked the Police to put their house in order and charge Latif with dishonestly receiving.
Handing the sentence, the trial judge Mr Aboagye Tandoh said he took into consideration the number of days spent in custody and his plea for mitigation.
However the trial judge said the conduct of Quaye and his modus operandi adopted especially when he subjected the complainant Madam Isabella Yeboah to severe beatings and attacked her with a knife.
The court said until Quaye’s mask used in covering his nefarious acts could no longer bear his acts but expose his identity.
It noted that the vehicle he took away from his half-sister had not been retrieved hence the need to hand down a deterrent sentence.
According to the court: “It was worrying that one cannot trust his or her own brother even though the incident was not a strange one.”
Prosecution, Detective Chief Inspector Isaac Agbemahia said the complainant was a trader residing at Ablekumah Agape in Accra.
Chief Inspector Agbemahia said Quaye had moved out of the family house and was residing in a ghetto at Kasoa.
On July 2, at about 8:00pm, prosecution said Madam Yeboah returned from Cape Coat after returning from a funeral.
While entering her compound, a man in mask lurking around her gate attacked her with a knife and subjected her to severe beatings.
Prosecution said the man escorted her to her apartment and ordered her to surrender all monies available or else he would kill her.
While ransacking her room, prosecution said Yeboah’s mask fell off his face and the complainant identified the man as her half-sister.
Yeboah decided to flee but managed to driver away the complainant’s Sportage KIA with registration number GY 490-13.
Complainant reported the matter to the Police at Anyaa and she was issued with a medical form to seek medical attention.
On July 5, this year, Chief Inspector Agbemahia said the case was transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for further investigations.
On July 9, this year, Quaye was arrested at Mallam-Gbawe and he admitted the offence saying he handed over the vehicle to Latif who sold it and handed him GH₵7,000.00.
Latif was nabbed and he stated that he sold the vehicle in Savelugu in the Northern Region to one Haminu for GH₵10,000.00.
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Source: GNA