Widower Gets 1 Year For Theft

By CHOMBA MUSIKA
THE Livingstone Magistrate’s Court has sentenced a 42-year-old widower to 12 months in prisonnment with hard labour for stealing KR580 which he claimed he wanted to use on his wife’s funeral.
This is a matter in which Richard Phiri of B30, Baton Township in Livingstone, is charged with theft. The offence is contrary to section 272 of the penal Code Chapter 87 of the Laws of Zambia.
Phiri, a teacher at Okavango Brigade in Bostwana, took plea before magistrate Exhornobit Zulu on Wednesday.
Particulars of the offence are that on June 6, 2013, Phiri stole KR580, belonging to Ms Christine Simonda.
Facts before court are that on the material day, Ms Simonda went to Bank ABC, in Livingstone to withdraw some money but failed because the cashier informed her that her account was insufficiently funded.
Ms Simonda raised a complaint to the bank that unknown people had stolen her Automated Teller Machine (ATM) card and the bank advised her to make a formal report of the theft of the ATM to the police, which she did not do.
On May 7, 2013, Ms Simonda, who was in the bank, received a text message informing her that someone was withdrawing money using her card. She immediately informed ABC officers about the text message and they saw Phiri leaving the ABC ATM.
The facts further state that on June 6, 2013, Ms Simonda, who went to bank to withdraw her salary, requested for KR600 on a withdrawal slip but was told that her account was insufficiently funded. The cashier handed her a bank statement, which indicated that someone had been withdrawing money from her account.
While at the bank, Ms Simonda received another text message informing her that someone was withdrawing KR500 from her account.
She showed the contents of the text to a Ms Bupe who immediately went to check on the people who had been withdrawing money from the ATM and found Phiri.
Ms Bupe made a private inquest into the suspected theft of Ms Simonda’s ATM card which was linked to Phiri.
On June 7, 2013, Phiri went to BancABC without realising that officials from the bank were trailing. They stood about two metres away from the ATM.
After the transaction, the officers approached him and recovered an ATM card, which bore Ms Simonda’s details.
Phiri was apprehended and taken to Linda police station where he admitted withdrawing money from Ms Simonda’s account.
The facts state that he withdrew the money on five occasions. Police recovered KR580 from Phiri, who was arrested and charged.
Asked whether the facts were correct, Phiri agreed but claimed he only withdrew the money once and that Ms Simonda allegedly gave him her pin number.
In mitigation, Phiri asked the court to be lenient with him because his children will suffer if he is sent to jail.
He told the court that his incarceration prevented him from attending his wife’s funeral.
“If you send me to jail, my teaching contract in Botswana will not be renewed and I will lose my benefits,” Phiri said.
“Your behaviour is shameful, especially that you could have found better ways of raising money. I wonder why you developed such an insatiable appetite for free things.
“I have considered your mitigation but since you’ve developed an appetite for free things, you are going to prison for 12 months with hard labour so that you can have free electricity and water,” magistrate Zulu said.

Posted by Editor on June 15, 2013. Filed under CRIME. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry