Crime & Punishment of Monday, 16 February 2009

Source: GNA

Two remanded for robbery

Accra, Feb. 16, GNA - An Accra Circuit Court on Monday remanded into police custody two people for their alleged involvement in the robbery of a taxi cab.

Gabriel Awuyeh, 28, a driver and Atta Agyemang, 32, a trader, pleaded not guilty and the court, presided over by Mrs. Ivy Heward-Mills remanded them in police custody to reappear on February 24. They allegedly robbed, abetted and forged documents of a Kia Pride taxi cab with the registration number GS 8649 Z valued at GH¢4,500 belonging to Mr Kow Quansah.

Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) George Abavelim said in October last year, Awuyeh went to Winneba and posed as a detective on a beat in the town.

He engaged the services of Mr Quansah, who was driving the taxi cab, for all his rounds. Suddenly, he pulled out a pistol at the North Campus of the University College of Education, Winneba, and ordered the driver to surrender the key to the vehicle and get out or die. Mr Quansah sensing danger obliged and left the car for him. Awuyeh then bolted with the car and changed the original colour from yellow and white to yellow and blue.

Awuyeh, with the assistance of Agyemang, managed to register the car again as GE 5954 X and then sell it at GH¢3,500. ASP Abavelim said Awuyeh was arrested at Kade last month and a search conducted in his room revealed forged registration documents covering the new registration number.

He then led the Police to Asuom to retrieve the stolen car and also to arrest Aygemang who registered the car for a fee of GH¢500. The prosecution said Awuyeh confessed having snatched other taxi cabs from other drivers and sold them to people at Kade. The Police retrieved four other taxi cabs he snatched and sold in the area. The forged documents of one of the taxi cabs with Aygemang's picture in which he has posed as the former owner was found in one of the taxi cabs. 16 Feb