A Junior Secondary School (JSS) pupil, Michael Antwi Boasiako, 19, has been remanded by a Circuit Tribunal at Tema for stealing ?38 million belonging to his step-mother. Michael pleaded guilty to the charge of stealing but insisted that the amount was ?18 million.

After the theft, he bought a KIA pride saloon car valued at ?7.6 million, paid ?500,000 to attend a driving school, rented a room and made an advance payment of ?1.6 million. He thereafter, bought personal belongings including a new bed and a mattress. When he was arrested at his new “home” at Odorkor in Accra, Michael had ?2.172 million left on him.

Prosecuting, Chief Inspector Edith Nutakor told the court that Michael’s step-mother, Mrs Akua Mercy Antwi-Boasiako, is a trader who deals in fish at the Tema harbour. After the day’s work on 18 May, she gave ?38 million packed in a polythene bag to her husband for safe-keeping because it was weekend and could not send it to the bank.

On Sunday, her husband, before leaving for church directed the children, including the accused, to fetch water for the home before coming to church. But the children failed to attend church. When the couple got home, Michael was nowhere to be found and the money was also missing.

A report was made to the police at Ashaiman and all attempts to find the accused person proved unsuccessful until he was traced to his hideout at the Race Course at Odorkor, where he confessed stealing the money. The tribunal chairman, Mr Ringo Cass Azumah, requested that the boy’s parents be made to appear in court too before a final decision was taken in the case.