The District Court at Tepa in the Ahafo Ano North Municipality in the Ashanti Region has handed an 18-month prison sentence to a 33-year-old Timber Merchant, Benjamin Asibi Sarfo
The convict together with four others (at large) were charged on four counts of criminal offences namely, Conspiracy to commit crime, Assault on Public Officer, contrary to Sections 23 (1) and 205 (a), (b); Threat of Death, contrary to Section 75, (c) Assault on Public Officer, contrary to Section 205 (a), and Offensive Conduct Conducive to Breaches of the Peace, contrary to Section 207; all of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960, Act 29.
The Accused (A1) pleaded “not guilty” to all the charges, but Her Honour Grace Linda Nyarko, Esq., a Circuit Court judge sitting as an additional magistrate, found him guilty on two counts – Conspiracy to commit crime and Assault on Public Officer, contrary to Section 205 (a), and Offensive Conduct Conducive to Breaches of the Peace, contrary to Section 207 and convicted him accordingly after the trial of the case involving the Republic and the Accused and four others at large.
Bright Febiri, Esq., Counsel for the Accused pleaded that Al was a first-time offender and should be given a second chance since the offence did not occasion any injury for which the Court ought to temper justice with mercy having learnt very useful lessons from the three weeks he spent in police custody.
He also prayed the Court to consider the Accused’s age and his status as a bread winner of two wives and four children. The Prosecution, led by Chief Inspector Owusu Sekyere, told the Court that the Complainant works with the Forestry Commission, Tepa, while A1 is a wood merchant who resides at Tepa.
According to him, on March 18, 2025 at about 6:00 pm, the Complainant and his officers were detailed for night duty at his office and that during their duty tour at about 2:00am, the accused entered the Forestry Commission premises and informed the Complainant that his loaded truck of lumber was approaching Tepa.
He said when the Complainant demanded to see his documentation in respect of the said lumber, the Accused drove off in his private vehicle only to return shortly after with four men riding two motor bikes, wearing smocks and wielding guns and cutlasses.
The Court heard that the four armed men threatened the complainant and dared him to stop the oncoming truck loaded with lumber if he was a man and see the consequences.
The Prosecutor said having put the fear of God in the Complainant and his officers, the said vehicle loaded with lumber passed through the check point without inspection, with the accused following suit.
A report was made to the police at 10:00 am on the same day and A1 was arrested, but he failed to name the four others nor disclose the location of the truck to the police.
The Prosecution called five witnesses including Albert Yeboah Ninsoh, (Principal Witness), a Forestry Officer at Tepa, who testified with Witness Statements which were adopted by the Court as Evidence-In-Chief.
PW1’s account and that of the other witnessed collaborated the facts given by the Prosecution. The Court noted that being such a youthful person with two wives and four children and claiming to earn a living as a Timber Merchant, he should have focused on doing things the legal way for the sake of his family.
Upon considering the entire evidence adduced by the accused and the Prosecution and the provisions of the Ghana Sentencing Guidelines, the Court sentenced the Accused to 18 months’ imprisonment in hard labour on both Counts 1 and 3, to run concurrently.
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