Four shop attendants have been charged with abetment of crime and stealing goods worth over GH¢60,000.00 from their employers.
They are Pedicta Yeboah, first accused (A1), Charlotte Obamea (A3), Prince Ampomah (A4) and Jacob Oppong (A5). They have been charged together with one Bintu Mohammed (A2).
Three of the accused persons – A1, A3 and A4 – were presented before the court, presided over by His Honour Samuel Bright Acquah and they all pleaded not guilty to the counts.
Obamea and Ampomah were granted bail in the sum of GH¢50,000 with two sureties, one should be income earner and the other, a family member for each.
Pedicta on the other hand was remanded into police custody on the prayer of the prosecution that she will interfere with investigation, as there is a lead that she has opened a fourth shop with stolen goods from her employer.
Prosecuting officer Chief Inspector Daniel Danku told the court that the employer of the accused persons is one Vivian Nkansah and a complainant in the case.
He said the complainant deals in various cosmetic products and owns shops and warehouses at Agbogbloshie, Okaishie, Teshie and Agbleza.
The prosecutor said accused persons were responsible for conveying the cosmetic products from the complainant’s warehouses to her shop at Okaishie for sale.
However, in the month of August 2022 the complainant took stock of the goods and detected shortages at the warehouse and the shops.
C/Insp Danku added that the complainant kept watch on the activities of the shop attendants and in the course of time, she gathered information that the first accused has established a shop at Agbogbloshie and was selling similar products as hers.The complainant reported the matter to the Police and the first accused was arrested.
During investigation, it was found out that the first accused had established two other cosmetic shops at Cow Lane and Mamprobi.
He said when the shops were searched, a number of cosmetic products believed to belong to the complainant were retrieved and the value was estimated at GH¢60, 352. 35.
Pedicta allegedly admitted stealing from the complainant to stock her shops.
The prosecutor told the court that investigation further revealed that Charlotte, Prince and Jacob after stealing the products would send them to Bintu Mohammed for safe keeping, after which Pedicta’s personal driver would go and convey the goods to her shops.
The court has adjourned the case to May 15, 2023.
