Wa, (U/W) May 3, GNA - A Wa circuit court has sentenced a 44-year old Internal Auditor of the State Housing Company to five years imprisonment in hard labour for defrauding a Wa-based businessman of an amount of 31.9 million cedis under false pretence. The convict, Justice Kumi, who was formerly in the Wa Office of the Company and now at Ho in the Volta Region pleaded not guilty at the court on April 28, 2004.

His accomplice, Fuseini Osuman, 47, who was in the dock with him was also convicted and sentenced to seven years imprisonment in hard labour.

The presiding judge, Alhaji M.A. Mustapha however acquitted and discharged the third accomplice Yahaya Ahmed, 45, for lack of evidence. The judge also advised the complainant, Issahaku Yakubu, to take civil action against the convicts to recover his money.

Prosecuting, Chief Inspector Joseph Noble Mantey, told the court that about four years ago, the accomplice, Fuseini Osuman, approached the complainant who is a building contractor and told him that, he knew a big "boss" at the Wa Office of the State Housing Company, who could help him secure building contracts.

Chief Inspector Mantey said that Osuman managed to introduce the complainant to the alleged boss, Justice Kumi who was then the Internal Auditor with the State Housing Company in Wa.

The prosecutor told the court that the two convicts collected an amount of 31,854,000 cedis from the complainant under the pretext of processing some document for the contract but it was later detected to be fraud.

The complainant after realising that he was duped, reported the matter to the police and they were arrested.