A 37-year-old labourer, Saiba Yusif, has been fined GH¢1,200 by a court in the Dadieso Suaman District of the Western Region for stealing a goat belonging to a 64-year-old man.
Yusif will serve a custodial sentence if he fails to pay the fine. The court also ordered him to pay GH¢3,000 as compensation to the owner of the goat.
The complainant, Godfred Koti, told the court that one of his nanny goats failed to return home after grazing. He reported the incident to the Dadieso Police and alerted local food vendors to watch out for anyone attempting to sell a goat.
Police later arrested Yusif while he was trying to sell the animal. He was charged and arraigned before the court, where he pleaded guilty.
Presiding Magistrate Lawrence Buanor convicted Yusif on his own plea and handed down the sentence.
Some court observers noted that if a non-custodial sentencing option were available, the offender could have been assigned community service, such as desilting gutters, instead of facing imprisonment at public expense.
