Some members of the public that swarmed the precincts of the Supreme Court to listen to the verdict in the case involving Victor Selormey, former Deputy Finance Minister, greeted him with shouts of "Awi o! Awi o! Thief! Thief! As he stepped out of the magnificent court building escorted by the Police into a waiting vehicle to begin his sentence.

This was some few minutes after an Accra Fast Track High Court, presided over by Mr Justice Sam Baddoo, had found him guilty of financial impropriety and sentenced him to eight years' imprisonment with hard labour.

Selormey's wife had stepped forward to hug him in the courtroom soon after judgement was pronounced. In spite of the shouts, the countenance of Selormey, who was dressed in a light blue political-suit, with his medicated glasses did not show any sing of concern.

Relatives, friends and sympathisers present, who were in pensive mood, looked on helpless as the former Deputy Finance Minister was whisked away by the Police amid siren to begin his eight-year jail term.

The former deputy Finance Minister, who faced six counts of conspiracy, defrauding by false pretences and wilfully causing financial loss to the State, conspired with Dr Fred Owusu-Boadu, a Ghanaian consultant in the United States, to fraudulently cause the loss of 1,297,500 dollars to the State.