Crime & Punishment of Friday, 1 July 2011

Source: GNA

Alleged robber remanded in prison custody

Fiapre, July 1, GNA - A circuit court at Fiapre, near Sunyani, has remanded a 35 year-old herdsman into prison custody for attempting to rob drivers and passengers on the Atebubu-Yeji road in Brong Ahafo.

The plea of Abubakar Alhassan was not taken on the charge of robbery and will reappear before the court on July 12, 2011.

Police Chief Inspector Kingsley Baafi, prosecutor, told the court, presided over by Mr Benjamin Yaw Osei that the complainant in the case is a driver, whilst the accused is a herdsman, both reside at Yeji.

He said at about 1100 hours on June 15 this year, the complainant was driving a taxi cab with registration number AS 1399 X with four passengers on board towards Yeji.

The prosecutor said on reaching a section of the road the driver saw from afar the accused and an accomplice, who is now at large, with a locally manufactured pistol and was in the process of robbing the drivers of two tipper trucks they had stopped at gun point.

On reaching the scene Alhassan and his accomplice ordered the complainant to stop, which he did and as they made the attempt to rob the passengers another vehicle emerged from Atebubu direction at top speed.

Chief Inspector Baafi said the accused and his accomplice sensing danger quickly jumped on their unregistered motor bike and took off but were chased by the complainant and managed to arrest Alhassan but his accomplice fled into the bush with the pistol.

The accused was sent to the police station at Yeji and the case was transferred to the police regional head quarters in Sunyani for further investigations.