By Saio Marrah
A Porter at Ferry Junction, Kissy in Freetown, Abu Bakarr Sankoh is to serve six months imprisonment at the Male Correctional Centre after he was convicted for stealing one Infinix Hot 10 mobile phone and one Apple I-phone 8plus with a total value of Old Leones11,000,000 (eleven million). The phones belonged to one Mustapha Sesay.
Sankoh was acquitted of “conspiracy to commit larceny from the person” during the trial at the main law court building in Freetown on Wednesday 1st February 2023.
According to state counsels, on 27th May 2022 the complainant, the accused and others were all at the Kissy ferry terminal where Sesay was with his bag trying to board the ferry.
The accused offered to assist the victim by carrying his bag and in the process unzipped the victim’s bag and stole the two phones, then handed them over to his accomplices who then took to their heels.
A lady selling goods at the same terminal identified Sankoh to the Police.
In his plea for mercy, the convict said he has no relatives in Freetown and has a 2-year-old daughter.
A Defence Lawyer pleaded for mercy that Sankoh was for the first time in conflict with the law and had spent over seven months in remand which was enough to serve as a lesson.
He called on the Presiding Judge Monfred Sesay to discharge Sankoh so that he can return to society and do something productive.
Justice Sesay in his ruling told the convict he should have stayed with his relatives in the provinces or continued with his porter job, which the judge said, is a gainful business.
Pardoning him would be letting him back to society to continue with the same havoc, the judge stressed.
His six months sentence commenced this February 2023.
Copyright © 2023 Politico Online (03/02/23)
