A 22-year-old sales boy who was captured on closed-circuit television (CCTV) stealing from his employer has been sentenced to 36 months’ imprisonment with hard labour by the Amasaman Circuit Court.
Kwame Atta was found culpable of stealing GH¢217,000.00 from Madam Sahada, his employer and the complainant in the case, despite initially denying the offence.
The court, presided over by Ms Susanna Nyakotey, ruled that the prosecution had discharged its burden of proof, while Atta failed to cast doubt on it. The court accordingly convicted Atta of the offence of stealing.
In passing sentence, the court took into consideration the convict’s age, the fact that he was a first-time offender, and his denial of the offence until the CCTV footage was tendered and viewed in court to prove his guilt.
The court advised Madam Sahada to file a civil action to retrieve her money after Atta has completed his sentence.
Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Dora Amoh earlier told the court that Madam Sahada is a trader and Atta is a salesperson, both residents of Adjen Kotoku.
She said in March 2025, the complainant employed the convict as a salesperson at her shop at the Adjen Kotoku onion market.
In July 2025, the complainant detected that her money box, in which she kept her savings, had been tampered with. Upon opening the box, she realised the money she had kept inside was missing.
The complainant replayed her CCTV footage and discovered that it was Atta who took the money from the money box.
ASP Amoh told the court that the total amount stolen from the money box was GH¢217,000.00. She added that after the incident, Atta stopped reporting to work.
The case was reported to the Adjen Kotoku Police, leading to Atta’s arrest.
During the investigation, Atta admitted to taking only GH¢1,500.00 from the box, stating that he intended to buy a mobile phone with the money but did not proceed with the purchase.
After the investigation, he was charged with the offence and put before the court.
A lawyer who announced herself as a friend of the court pleaded in mitigation that Atta was young and a first-time offender. She prayed for a non-custodial sentence, arguing that mingling him with hardened criminals in prison would destroy his life.
She urged the court to allow Atta time to pay restitution, to bond him to be of good behaviour, and to give him a chance to repent.
She further explained that since Atta was not represented by a lawyer, he became terrified and confused, hence his denial of the offence. She pleaded with the court not to interpret this as defiance or lack of remorse.
The court, however, proceeded to hand down the 36-month custodial sentence with hard labour.
