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AFTER FAILING to adhere to a directive by the Ashaiman Circuit Court to go and pay for stolen items which culminated in the institution of a civil action, the popular Tema scrap dealer, Alhaji Awudu Salifu and two others have landed themselves in serious trouble. The Tema High Court, presided over by Justice Laurenda Owusu, on the 4th of March, 2014, entered final judgment against the Alhaji Salifu and the two others, on the sum of US$145,302.82 or its cedi equivalent and GH� 22,808.25 with interest on the said sum from 18th February 2013 to date of final payment. Also awarded against the defendants is 10 per cent (10%) cost of the amount claimed. The judgment is as a result of a civil suit brought against Alhaji Awudu Salifu, Bright Yalley (aka Nana), Kwadwo Oppong and Musah Kamat who dishonestly received 222 drums of lube oil which was stolen from the GTMC bonded warehouse in Tema on Sunday February 12,2012. The four receivers during the trial admitted committing the crime and the Ashaiman Circuit Court chaired by Mr. Seyram Tsatsu Yao Azuma, on the 18th of February 2013 convicted each of the accused persons on their own guilty plea and sentenced them to pay a fine of 150 penalty units or in default 48 months imprisonment in hard labour. The judge further directed that the accused persons are to pay for the value of 136 drums of the oil and if they failed, the complainants were at liberty to institute civil action to claim same. When they refused the court order, Lawyer Osafo Buabeng of Oseawuo chambers and co., Tema, on the 24th of May 2013, filed motions Ex-parte at the Tema High Court for Judgment in default of appearance. Justice Laurenda Owusu in her judgement, said Alhaji Awudu Salifu and Musah Kamat were served personally with the writ of summons and statement of claim and a search conducted at the registry of the court indicates so. Bright Yalley was, however, served by substituted service but the plaintiff did not make effort to serve Kwadwo Oppong with the process. Meanwhile the plaintiff in the case has sent a petition to the Chief Justice seeking Justice as it thinks that it was not fairly treated in the case. Dated 27th May 2014, the petition states that plaintiff is a Ghanaian fishing company registered and has been operating since 2002 and currently owns eight (8) vessels with Ghanaian registration. The petition stated that on Sunday February 12, 2012, its customs bonded warehouse in the Ghana Textiles Manufacturing Company (GTMC) yard was broken into by thieves who made away with a total of 222 drums of oil meant for the fishing vessels, a vessel crank shaft, a skiff boat propeller and a CCTV recorder. It went on that the raid was captured on CCTV recorder and in the cause of police investigations, eight (8) persons were apprehended and 86 of the drums of oil were retrieved from Kumasi. The petition continued that the accused persons were put before court and on February 18, 2013 after nearly a year in court suddenly changed their plea to guilty. The judge passed judgment to the effect that the accused should pay GH�1,800.00 each and negotiate with plaintiff to pay the value of the stolen goods. The petition stated that the judgment did not give any schedule for which the accused should pay the money and directed that if they failed to pay, the plaintiff should institute civil action but they were a bit skeptical about the judgment because the case was criminal one and thought that the thieves should be punished and also given a time frame to pay the money. As directed by the court, civil action was started, and even though they were served, none of them appeared till judgment was entered by the High Court in the civil suit and believed that the law has not been fairly applied here and are therefore appealing to her ladyship the chief justice seeking redress.