An agricultural engineer, Abraham Asudam, has been sentenced to a 36-month jail term with hard labour by the Accra Circuit Court for masterminding a tipper truck procurement worth GHS150,000 under false pretenses.

The court, presided over by Justice Isaac Addo, convicted a 43-year-old guilty despite pleading not guilty.

The convict took money from Mr George Asudam in December 2020, claiming he could acquire the vehicle through contracts in Belgium.

During the sentencing, the judge took into account that Mr Asudam was a first-time offender and had already spent time in custody while sentencing was postponed to allow him to repay an outstanding amount of GHS30,000.

“However, notwithstanding several adjournments to enable the accused person to pay the money, he refused… The court would therefore pass a fairly deterrent sentence on the accused,” the judge ruled.

The court further directed the convict to refund GHS30,000 to the complainant.

According to lead prosecutor ASP Seth Frimpong, the convict had issued a fake document including a receipt from a non-existent company named Power Vehicle Innovation and a fabricated truck chassis number, falsely assuring the complainant that the vehicle would be delivered within a month.

However, he later ceased all communication, and efforts to reach him proved unsuccessful until he was apprehended following a police complaint.

Investigations established that Mr Asudam was not a registered vehicle dealer and that all documents he provided were forged.

The police managed to retrieve GHS20,000 from him, which has been kept as part of the case evidence.

The Criminal and other Offences Act of Ghana, 1960 (Act 29) views defrauding by false pretence as a crime.

A person defrauds by false pretences if, by means of a false pretence, or by impersonation, that person obtains the consent of another person to part with or transfer the ownership of a thing.

As stated in Section 131 of the Act, "A person who defrauds any other person by a false pretence commits a second degree felony."

Also, "a person who, by means of a false pretence or by personation obtains or attempts to obtain the consent of another person to part with or transfer the ownership of a thing by a false representation of acting in accordance with the instructions, orders or a request of the President or member of the Cabinet, commits a second degree felony under subsection (1) and is liable to a term of imprisonment of not less than ten years and not more than twenty-five years despite section 296 of the Criminal and Other Offences (Procedure) Act, 1960 (Act 30)."