Lawyer Ernestina Obboh Botchwey has issued a public warning, urging people to exercise extreme caution when purchasing items.
She emphasized that individuals can face imprisonment for up to fifteen years if they make wrongful purchases, such as buying stolen goods from unauthorized or unlicensed sellers.
Ms. Botchwey, an Assistant Public Defender at the Legal Aid Commission, previously explained on her YouTube channel that Ghanaian laws dictate that individuals who knowingly receive stolen items, such as those obtained through theft or robbery, will be punished similarly to those who committed the actual crimes of theft or robbery.
She cited an example that the crime of robbery with an offensive weapon carries a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison.
Therefore, individuals who knowingly receive or buy stolen goods involving an offensive weapon can also face the same minimum sentence after the courts have considered all factors and convicted them for the offense of dishonestly receiving.
Supporting her argument, she mentioned that she personally knows someone who is currently serving a 15-year prison sentence for purchasing a phone from an inappropriate source.
“I know someone who is in prison for 15 years because he bought a phone at the wrong place. Please be careful in your trading,” she admonished.