Teacher in custody for allegedly stealing mini bus

Smith Sebastian Amoah, a 42-year-old teacher from Berekum in the Brong Ahafo region, was on Tuesday remanded in prison custody by a circuit court at Cape Coast for allegedly stealing a mini bus belonging to one Mr Abraham Baison Dadzie. Amoah, who pleaded not guilty to three counts of stealing the bus and various sums of money totalling, 1.4 million cedis, would reappear on Monday January 26.

Prosecuting, Inspector Hope Azasoo told the court, presided over by Mr Mustapha Logoh, that between 2000 and 2001, Mr Dadzie informed Amoah, who was then a student at the UCC and a tenant in his house at Kwaprow, near Cape Coast, that he had a mini bus which he wanted to sell at 18 million cedis.

Inspector Azasoo alleged that Amoah left for Berekum after completing his course, but later returned to inform his former landlord that he had some prospective buyers at Berekum who were ready to buy the vehicle.

He said Mr Dadzie became convinced and released the vehicle to Amoah to be sent to Berekum on November 1, 2001, but he (Amoah) returned the next day to inform him that the vehicle had broken down at Ahwiaso-Nkwanta in the Ashanti Region.

Inspector Azasoo said Mr. Dadzie gave Amoah 1.2 million cedis to buy a new engine to enable him to move the vehicle to Berekum, but he failed to do so, and rather came to inform Mr Dadzie that the said buyers were no longer interested.

Mr Dadzie again gave him an amount of 240,000 cedis to buy fuel for the vehicle and return it to him in Cape Coast, but Amoah failed to return the vehicle as instructed, and the matter was therefore, reported to the police.

Police investigations later revealed that Amoah had sold the vehicle to one Mr Thomas Asensu at Berekum for eight million cedis and collected four million cedis as part payment.