An Accra Circuit Court on Monday sentenced one Awankaba Abelenya, a labourer to 15 years imprisonment in hard labour for robbing one Anita Armah of her Sony mobile phone worth GH¢ 300.00.

The convict also stole a lady's hand bag containing an amount of GH¢ 32.00.

Awankaba, pleaded guilty.

He told the court that ‘I saw the complainant urinating by the road side while the phone was on the ground so I picked it up and in the process of running away I was hit by a running car”.

He pleaded with court to temper justice with mercy.

The court presided over by Mr Aboagye Tandor said he had taken into consideration the convicts plea for mercy and the fact that he had not wasted the time of the court by pleading guilty on first appearance.

He, said he sentenced Awankaba to 15 years to serve as a deterrent to others.

Prosecuting Police Chief Inspector, E. Afful told the court that, the complainant Anita, is a trader at Tudu market, while the convict is a labourer and lives at Lartebiokoshie.

He said on October 6, while the complainant was on the Mataheko road heading towards peace clinic, Awankaba attacked her with a sharp knife, and robbed her and sped off on his motor bike, with an accomplice now at large.

The prosecution said the complainant raised the alarm and the convict was chased and arrested together with the complainant’s bag but his accomplice succeeded in escaping with the mobile phone.

Police Chief Inspector Afful told the court that the convict was later handed over to the police for further investigations.

He said the police visited the scene and retrieved the knife as an exhibit. Awankaba also admitted the offence in his caution statement.