22-year-old farmer fines GH¢1,200 for stealing motor tricycle
A 22-year-old farmer, Koliko Kwabena, has been sentenced by the Nsuta Circuit Court in the Sekyere Central District of the Ashanti Region to a fine of GH¢1,200 or six months’ imprisonment in default after pleading guilty to stealing a motor tricycle.
The sentence was handed down on Friday, 21 August 2026, by His Lordship Simon Nketiah Gagah.
According to the prosecution, led by Chief Inspector C.K. Gyesi, the complainant, Owusu Frimpong, a mason, parked his Apsonic motor tricycle (registration number M-25-AP 815) behind his window at Nsuta after closing from work at about 8:30 p.m. on 2 August 2026.
The following morning, at approximately 8:30 a.m., a police team conducting a snap check at Juaben intercepted the accused riding the same tricycle, while another man pushed it from the direction of Effiduase towards Ejisu. When officers stopped them for questioning, the second man fled into nearby bushes. The accused was arrested.
A mobile phone number written on the tricycle was dialled, and the complainant confirmed that his tricycle, which he parked the previous night, had been stolen. The accused and the recovered tricycle were then escorted to Nsuta Police Station with an extract from Juaben Police.
In his caution statement, given before an independent witness, the accused denied the offence. He claimed that his friend, identified only as Bilaadi, had stolen the tricycle and that he was merely assisting him to transport it to Kumasi when they were intercepted.
Investigations extended to Akotia Line in Kumasi, where the alleged accomplice was said to be hiding, but the accused was unable to lead police to the man’s residence.
Further enquiries revealed that the Bilaadi had previously been convicted in 2013 by the Tamale Circuit Court and sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment for a similar offence. Information provided by a relative, who requested anonymity, indicated that the accused had been residing at Akotia Line for the past five years following his release from prison.
Police also established that he forms part of a syndicate involved in the theft of motorcycles from private homes.
In delivering the sentence, the court observed that koliko is a victim of circumstance and has not personally benefited from the crime.
The tricycle had been recovered and restored to its owner. Taking these factors into account, the court exercised leniency in imposing sentence.
@KINGSOLOMON JINGLE FM ASANTE MAMPONG
