A 35-Year-old electrician, has been jailed eight years with hard labour by the Agona Swedru Circuit Court for stealing high-tension electrical cables valued at GH¢15,000.
Thomas Essel pleaded guilty to two counts of stealing and causing unlawful damage to government property.
The cables, belonging to Power TEC VENTURE Company limited, was being used for a rural electrification project for residents of Broferase, Kwesi Paintsil and 10 other communities in the Agona East District of the Central region.
Police Chief Inspector Maxwell Boadu, prosecuting, said the complainant was Mr William Azadekor, a foreman of the Power TEC VENTURE, who lives at Kasoa.
Prosecution told the court presided over by Mr Jonathan Nunoo that the convict was an electrician from Duabone, near Duakwa in Agona East, one of the beneficiary communities of the project, but lives at Kasoa.
Chief Insp Boadu said the complainant was contracted by the government of Ghana to extend electricity power from Broferase-Junction, near Agona Nsaba, to Kwesi Paintsil and other villages.
The prosecution said the complainant reported the theft (removal) of a quantity of high-tension cables from some high-tension poles at the project site to the police.
According to Chief Insp Boadu, the complainant also alerted residents of the beneficiary communities about the theft and urged them to be alert to help apprehend the culprit.
He said on Saturday, August 27, 2022, around 10 am, Essel was seen with two fertiliser sacks, a pair of climbing shoes, an electricity power tester, a plier, a pair of safety boots and a pair of hand gloves at the project site.
Chief Insp Boadu said the convict had climbed the high-tension poles and started cutting the cables, measuring 400 meters, valued at GH¢15,000.
The court heard that a dog barked at the convict, which attracted the owner, Mr Kumi Shardrack.
Chief Insp Boadu said when the owner of the dog saw Essel, he raised the alarm, and some residents arrested Essel together with the stolen cables and handed him over to the police at Agona Nsaba.
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