Kumasi loading boy jailed 18 months for stealing chicken

A Circuit Court in Kwadaso, Ashanti Region, has sentenced a 21-year-old loading boy, Kwabena Manu, to 18 months imprisonment after he admitted to stealing six boxes of frozen chicken at the Adehyeman Market in Kumasi.

Manu pleaded guilty to the charge of stealing and was convicted on his own plea by the presiding judge, Mr Jephthah Appau.

According to the facts presented by Police Chief Inspector David Opoku Kwabi, the complainant, Gifty Zaan, is a trader based at Kumasi-Afrancho, while Manu worked as a loading boy at Kejetia.

On September 8, around 9:00 a.m., Zaan was looking for a vehicle to transport six boxes of chicken, worth GH¢2,100, from Adehyeman Market to Afrancho. The court heard that Manu volunteered to assist her and carried away four boxes under the pretense of helping, heading toward the Afrancho Trotro Station.

When Zaan turned to pick up the two remaining boxes, she later realised the accused had vanished. By evening, she managed to trace him and demanded the meat, but Manu could not account for its whereabouts.

The prosecutor said the accused also failed to provide any reasonable explanation. He was subsequently arrested and handed over to the Suame police.

Following investigations, Manu was charged and brought before the court, where he was sentenced to serve an 18-month custodial term.