By: Isatou Sarr
The Banjul High Court Annex yesterday sentenced Mam John Richards to three-year-imprisonment after finding him guilty of stealing over one million dalasis from a company he directed.
Justice Sonia Akinbiyi, the presiding judge, in her ruling also gave Richards an option to pay a fine of one million five hundred thousand (D1,500,000.00).
Richards was charged with stealing by directors or officers of a company contrary to Section 258 of the Criminal Code. He pleaded not guilty, but after the prosecution closed its case, he repeatedly failed to appear to open his defence. Following several adjournments and absences, the court foreclosed his right to present a defence.
Meanwhile, the prosecution tendered six exhibits, including invoices, receipts, business account records, a letter from the Gambia Revenue Authority, the accused’s cautionary statement, and a WAIVC bank statement.
Four witnesses also testified. Among them was Jean Louis (PW1), who worked with Richards as a business partner in the distribution and sale of basalt. PW2, Amadou Bojang, and PW3, Kebab B. Jadama, a police officer at Kanifing Station, also testified. The prosecution’s case was completed by PW4 Paul Davies, a qualified accountant who analysed the financial documentation.
In her judgment, Justice Akinbiyi emphasized the high standard of proof required in criminal cases. Citing Section 144 of the Evidence Act, she noted that guilt must be established “beyond reasonable doubt and not beyond every shadow of doubt.”
The court outlined the definition of theft under the Criminal Code: the prosecution must prove the fraudulent taking, conversion, and intention to permanently deprive the owner of the property. In cases involving company directors, the prosecution must also show that the accused was indeed a director and that the stolen assets belonged to the company.
Justice Akinbiyi said the prosecution met all required elements. “In this case, the prosecution succeeds in proving the ingredients of theft by establishing the taking, the conversion and the fraudulent intention in permanent deprivation of over D1,000,000.00,” she ruled.
She therefore found Richards guilty of the single charge under Section 259 of the Criminal Code.
In sentencing, the court imposed a three-year custodial term, with an alternative option for the convict to pay a fine of D1.5 million.
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By: Isatou Sarr The Banjul High Court Annex yesterday sentenced Mam John Richards to three-year-imprisonment after finding him guilty…
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