Tarkwa:Labourer jailed four months for stealing mobile phone

A 36-year-old labourer, Prince Gyasi, also known as Kofi Yesu, has been sentenced to four months in prison by the Tarkwa District Court One for stealing a mobile phone.

Gyasi admitted to the offence when he appeared before the court, presided over by Mr. Charles Owusu Nsiah.

According to the prosecutor, Police Inspector Patrick Essien, the first complainant, Bright Chigozie, operates a mobile phone sales and exchange business at the Ford Lorry Station in Tarkwa. On November 29, 2024, around 1:15 PM, Chigozie left his phone display table under the care of his younger brother, Chukwu Emeka, who served as a witness in the case.

While Emeka was managing the stall, Gyasi approached, expressing interest in exchanging his blue-black Redmi phone for a Samsung Galaxy A15, priced at GH¢2,000. Upon inspection, Emeka requested an additional GH¢1,500 from Gyasi to complete the swap, but Gyasi said he couldn’t afford the top-up.

Taking advantage of Emeka’s momentary distraction with another customer, Gyasi discreetly took the Samsung Galaxy A15, concealed it in his hat, and left the area. When Emeka noticed the missing phone, he searched the vicinity and spotted Gyasi emerging from a public restroom nearby. He was quickly apprehended.

Chigozie, who had returned to the scene by then, joined in escorting Gyasi to the Tarkwa Police Station, where the stolen phone and hat were handed over to the authorities. During investigations, police found that the Redmi phone Gyasi offered had a screen saver image of a young boy in a school uniform.

Gyasi claimed he bought the phone for GH¢300 from an unknown person at Tarkwa Railway Station and had no knowledge of the child on the screen saver. Further checks revealed the device’s WhatsApp account was active until November 30, 2024. Investigators traced the account to a woman named Nana Ama Quansah via the MTN number 0544112617.

Upon calling the number, a second complainant, Agnes Nana Ama Blay, answered. She reported that on the same day of the theft, her Redmi phone—valued at GH¢2,060 and containing GH¢140 in its back cover—was stolen from her handbag while she was boarding a vehicle to Bogoso at New Site. She later visited the police station and confirmed the phone as hers, identifying the screen saver as a photo of her two-year-old son.

Gyasi was charged with theft and subsequently convicted by the court.