A 19-year-old sachet water seller in Accra was yesterday slapped with a two-year jail term by an Accra circuit court at a Junior Correctional Institute for stealing a 3-month-old baby.

The convict, Deborah Ansah aka Rukaya, stole the baby girl from one Aminatu Alhassan while she was asleep at Avenor, near Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra on February 26, 2016.

She reportedly settled with the child at Achiansa Nubesu, a village near Suhum in the Eastern Region.

In a court presided over by Ruby Adjeley Quaison, Rukaya, who was not represented by a lawyer, admitted the charge of stealing preferred against her.

Sentencing Rukaya, the court said it had taken into consideration her plea for mitigation and her show of remorse.

Earlier, Rukaya had said that she did not know her action was a crime and that since she was remanded none of her relatives had showed up.

According to the prosecution led by Detective Inspector Kofi Atimbiri, Rukaya told the police that she was tormented by a spirit to sell the baby to replace her dead baby.

D/Insp. Atimbiri said Aminatu is an unemployed resident who lives at Avenor with her husband and baby.

He said the accused person used to sell sachet water in the same vicinity with the complainant who went through Caesarean operation, for which reason she was unable to do her household chores.

D/Insp. Atimbiri stated that Aminatu, who did not suspect the evil plan of Rukaya, opened up to her and that on the said day at 10am, the complainant fed the baby and went to sleep, leaving behind the accused who played ludo with another person.

The prosecutor said Rukaya, upon realizing that Aminatu was asleep, took the child and told a witness in the case that she was going to the market, adding that the complainant later woke up and realized that her child was nowhere to be found.

The police officer indicated that a report was lodged with the Tesano Police Station, leading to the arrest of Rukaya at Achiansa Nubesu.