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A 33-Year-Old night watchman at the Animal Production Directorate of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Mustapha Yakubu, has found himself at the wrong side of the law after he caused damages to four air-conditioners at the ministry.

His reason was that he has not been paid his salary for the past seven months.

Yakubu has been arraigned and charged with unlawful damage but pleaded not guilty to the charge. After closing his defence the court set December 22 to deliver judgment in the case.

In court yesterday prior to ending his defence, Yakubu told the court presided over by Her Worship Ms Arit Nsemor that he was influenced by the fact that he had not been paid his salary for seven months.

But the prosecution said he was not paid because he had refused to subject himself to the head count exercise ordered by the Controller and Accountant General’s Department which is part of the process for all government workers to go for the biometric registration exercise.

He told the court that despite destroying the air-conditioners valued at GH¢12, 000 he committed the act with a machete which has been admitted to evidence. He told the court that his money had still not been paid to him.

Testimonies

Four witnesses were produced by the prosecution led by Sergeant Joyce Ofori to give evidence in court. And Mr Frank Yeboah, the second prosecution witness in the case, who works at the Animal Production Directorate, said he had known Yakubu for the past six years.

He told the court that on November 23, at about 8:30a.m., when he arrived at the office a cleaner by name Veronica Tetteh reported to him that Yakubu had vandalized four of the office air-conditions.

According to him, after the inspection, he called the watchman and he confessed that he was the one that vandalised the properties and the electrical appliances that accompanied them.

When asked to tell the court how much the air-conditioners cost, he said the mechanic who services them said each of them cost GH¢3, 000, meaning the four would amount to GH¢12, 000.

He said he reported the matter to the chief director of the Animal Production Directorate, Mr Kwamena Ampofo, and he instructed that the matter be reported to the police.

Cleaner, investigator give evidence

Ms Tetteh, the cleaner of the directorate, told the court that upon arriving at work and she realised from their changing room that one of the air-conditioners had been damaged. She said she went round and realised that three additional air-conditioners had been damaged and upon interrogating Yakubu, he said he was the one that spoiled them. She subsequently reported the matter to her bosses.

Detective Lance Corporal Lawrence Darko Peasah, the investigator in the case, in his evidence, told the court that after the report was made at the Ministries Police Station, he invited the suspect and after investigation, he was was charged.

He said upon arriving at the scene, he found that four air-conditioners had been destroyed and a machete the accused person used in destroying the air-conditioners and destroyed padlocks were retrieved.