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The mitigating plea of Abdulai Osman, 32, that he used GH�22,500, being the proceeds of 1,500 bags of cement he stole, to defray the funeral expenses of his late son did not deter the Amasaman Magistrate Court from punishing him. Neither was the court, presided over by Mrs. Abena Oppong Adjin-Doku, convinced that, he used the money to buy a cow, for breeding. Osman was sentenced to 15 months in prison, after he pleaded guilty to the charge of stealing last week Wednesday. Osman�s accomplice, Nicholas Okine, also called Taller, was however remanded into prison custody until April 4, after he had pleaded not guilty to a charge of conspiracy to steal. Okine had also told the court that, Osman gave him only GH�100 after the cement was sold. �He was the one who looked for a buyer and a vehicle to load the cement, but said he did not know that, the cement was stolen,� he said. The prosecutor Chief Inspector Kofi Annan told the court that, the owner of the cement Emmanuel Fidgerald deposited 150 bags of cement with Osman at Ablorme, near Amasaman on March 9, this month. He said on March 13, when Mr. Fidgerald went to collect the cement, he realized that Osman has sold them and had gone into hiding. A report was made to the police and Osman was arrested.