Ndola Bricklayer Imprisoned With Hard Labour For Stealing Toothpaste

By NANCY SIAME
The Ndola Magistrate’s Court has sentenced a brick-layer to 30 days imprisonment with hard labour for stealing a shopping bag and a tube of Colgate toothpaste valued at over K 200 from Shoprite Checkers.
Magistrate Chitundu Chongo on Tuesday convicted Alex Banda, 24, of house number 5598 Hillcrest Extension, Ndola, after he pleaded guilty and affirmed to the facts as correct.
“I have noted that the accused is a first offender who readily admitted the charge without wasting the court’s time,” Ms Chongo said.
Particulars of the offence are that the accused on December 6 this year stole one shopping bag and a tube of toothpaste altogether valued at K 234 from Shoprite.
Facts read before the court by public prosecutor Joseph Kapapa were that on the material day, Frank Musonda, a security guard, was on duty when he spotted a man get a green shopping bag and remove a bar code from it.
“He started walking out of the supermarket without going through the shop teller and when he reached the exit door, he was approached and asked if he had a receipt for the bag.”
“He told the security men that the bag was his and did not have a receipt for it,”the facts read in part.
Banda was taken to the guard room where further search was conducted on him and a tube of Colgate toothpaste was found.
It was discovered that he had removed the bar code from the bag and management was informed. The matter was reported to the police.
In mitigation, Banda said what he had done was an embarrassment not just to his family but to society .
He told the court that he is a single parent of three children as his wife died during the birth of the last-born twins.
“If I am sent to prison, my children will suffer because they have no-one else to take care of them,” Banda said.
Magistrate Chongo took his mitigation into consideration and sentenced him to 30 days imprisonment.
He notified him of his right to appeal within 14 days.

Posted by Editor on December 21, 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