45-year-old local DJ, Yaw Sam has been jailed for squandering money given him by a ‘chop bar’ operator to buy a goat for business.
Speaking to Crime Check TV GH, Sam admitted spending the money, attributing it to financial difficulties he faced during that period after his job collapsed.
He said as a result his wife cheated on him and even packed out of the room taking along all his belongings. “She did not even leave me with a boxer short,” he said.
Sam who also worked as an electrician said he had nine children to take care of as his wife already had six children from her previous relationship and he also had additional two kids with her.
“The chop bar operator gave me Three Hundred Ghana cedis and later added another Four Hundred Ghana cedis but when I went to the owner of the goat to buy, he had traveled so I spent the money. I was in dire need of money,” he said.
Sam said apart from the ‘goat money’, he also spent money he was given in advance by a cocoa dealer after showing interest in his cocoa farm. He said he spent the money hoping that the businessman would buy the land but luck eluded him. He indicated that the businessman came back later to demand his money because he had lost interest in buying the farmland.
Sam said he could not refund the money so the businessman got him arrested.
“The cocoa dealer gave me One Thousand Two Hundred Ghana cedis for showing interest in my cocoa farm. Later he rescinded his decision and said my farm did not have enough cocoa trees. I asked him to exercise patience while I sell off the farm so that I refund his money but he did not agree with me and reported me to the police,” he said.
In another instance, Sam claimed that a co-tenant he accompanied to pay his fine at the Court and gave him One Hundred Ghana cedis turned around to accuse him of exploiting him of One Thousand Six Hundred Ghana cedis. This was because he said he recommended an official at the court registry to his neighbor to make the payment.
“When we went to the court registry initially, the man I recommended to him was not at the office so we returned. My friend gave me One Hundred Ghana cedis that day but he later went there alone and paid the fine. Subsequently, when he made a follow-up to the registry, he was told the man he paid the money to, has retired. When he heard I was arrested he also came accusing me of directing him to the wrong person,” he lamented.
Sam said when he was sent to court, the complainants pleaded with the judge to let him go but the judge indicated it was too late to grant their request.
He said the judge fined him One Thousand Eight Hundred Ghana cedis but he defaulted in payment so he was sentenced to twelve months imprisonment.
Time With The Prisoner
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