A Kumasi Circuit Court presided over by Emmanuel Amoh-Yartey has sentenced a 65 year old ex-convict and retired teacher to five years imprisonment in hard labour for defrauding two women of GH�5,500.
Akwasi Appiagyei, who was charged on two counts of defrauding by false pretence contrary to section 131 of Act 29/60, deceived the ladies into believing he could help them gain admission into a nursing training school.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges but was sentenced to five and two years imprisonment on both counts to run concurrently.
Presenting the facts of the case to the court, Chief Inspector, Sylvanus D�almeida said the convict met the victims at Ash Town and Kejetia, two suburbs in Kumasi about seven months ago.
During rather brief interactions, the ex-teacher succeeded in defrauding the victims (names withheld) of GH�3,300 and GH�2,200 respectively under the pretext of helping them gain admission into nursing training school.
According to the court, though the victims paid the money to the convict who introduced himself to them as a university lecturer, their dream of becoming nurses never materialized.
Prosecution said the convict went into hiding after collecting the money until he was spotted at Kejetia where he was apprehended and sent to the Kejetia Police Station.
Akwasi Appiagyei was said to have charged the victims GH�3,000 each of which one managed to pay GH�2,200 while the other paid the full amount.
He admitted the offence in his caution statement to police.
In another development, the court sentenced a 37-year-old driver to three years imprisonment in hard labor for defrauding a teacher at Trabuom, a community in the Atwima Kwanwoma district of the Ashanti region.
Edward Asaase defrauded the female teacher of GH�1,050 under the pretext of finding her a chamber and hall apartment to rent.
Police Chief Inspector, A.K Fandoh who led the prosecution team said in May, the convict was introduced to the complainant as a rental agent.
The complainant together with her brother went to the convict who took them to a house at Atasomanso, a pleasant suburb of Kumasi and showed them an unoccupied room.
The prosecution said the complainant expressed interest in the house and paid the said amount to the agent but realized later that she had been defrauded.
When the convict was contacted on phone he told the complainant he had used the money to renovate a different house.
Several attempts to meet with him to refund the money proved futile until his dubious deed was reported to the police, resulting in his arrest.
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