4 granted GH¢400,000 bail over power theft
FOUR persons have been granted GH¢400,000 bail by the Circuit Court in Accra for alleged stealing power from the Electricity Company of Ghana.
Ernest Afatsawu, Wisdom Sewlonu, Ali Yakubu, and Ranlian Shan, pleaded not guilty to seven counts of abetment of crime, conspiracy to commit crime, stealing, money laundering, causing unlawful damage and interference with suppliers distribution system and meter.
The court, presided over by Mr Samuel Bright Acquah, ordered the accused to produce two sureties each and report to the police investigator once every Wednesday, until the final determination of the case.
Shan, a Chinese man, had been asked to deposit his passport with the registrar of the court.
Appearing before Mr Acquah, the prosecutor, Mrs Dorcas Felli, told the court that Ernest is an electrician, while Sewlonu is a foreman of “Nyame Aye bi” Electrical Company Ltd., a third-party contractor of ECG.
She said Yakubu is the sales manager of Ranlian Manufacturing Company, a Plastic Manufacturing Company in Oblogo, Accra.
The prosecutor said “Nyame Aye bi,” is an electrical company engaged by ECG.
Mrs Felli said Ernest was the one who installed the meter he tampered in the house of Ali and Shan and charged GH¢1,200 for his services.
She said investigations led to the arrest of the accused on August 2 before they were arraigned.
The accused were represented by Mr Kofi Bonnie, and Richard Banson, who told the court the accused would not abscond when granted bail.
Mr Bonnie, counsel for Afatsawu and Sewlonu, told the court that his clients had a fix place of abode, that they were not flight risk, and had persons to stand as sureties for them.
BY MALIK SULLEMANA
