A security guard who attacked a businesswoman by stabbing her twice in the abdomen with a knife and fork has been sentenced to 15 years imprisonment by the Accra Circuit Court.
The accused, Alhassan Abdul Rahuf, initially pleaded not guilty to charges of unlawful entry and causing harm. However, following the trial, the court, under the authority of Mr. Isaac Addo, found him guilty.
Consequently, the court delivered a sentence of 15 years imprisonment with hard labor for the offense of unlawful entry and an additional seven years imprisonment with hard labor for causing harm.
“Sentences will run concurrently,” the court said.
Throughout the trial, the prosecution presented three witnesses to testify, while the accused person, Alhassan Abdul Rahuf, chose to testify on his own behalf and did not call any additional witnesses.
When delivering the sentence, the Court took several factors into consideration. Firstly, it acknowledged that Rahuf was a first-time offender, implying that he had no prior criminal record. Additionally, the Court recognized that he was a young man. Finally, the Court also considered the period of time Rahuf had already spent in lawful custody.
It said, “However, looking at the nature of the offences, the premeditated way of carrying them out, the injury caused to the victim and the fact that the accused person was a security guard in charge of protecting lives and property at a residential area and he should have known better.”
It said, “The accused person deserves a deterrent sentence.”
The facts as presented by Chief Inspector Jonas Laweh were that the complainant Madam Rita Owusu is the Facility Manager of Arabella residence located at Cantonments.
The prosecution said the victim Belinda Akorli is a businesswoman and resided at Arabella residence while the accused person, now convict, was a security guard providing security for the Arabella residence.
It said on April 28, 2023, at about 0710 hours (about 4 weeks) the convict who was on guard duty at the above-mentioned residence sought permission from his supervisor to use the washroom and failed to return.
The prosecution said the convict, after using the washroom, went to the apartment of the victim and entered the room through the children’s playroom window.
It said the convict changed himself into the victim’s husband’s attire, left his uniform and boots in a polythene bag in the victim’s children’s playroom and hid himself.
The prosecution said on April 29, 2023, at about 1330hrs the same day, the victim was dressing up after taking her bath when the convict suddenly appeared naked in her bedroom.
It said the victim shouted for help, but the convict rushed to the kitchen, picked up a knife and a fork, and stabbed the victim twice in the abdomen with the fork.
The prosecution said the victim started bleeding and rushed out of the room naked.
It said the convict also rushed out and cut one of the electric fence wires and scaled the wall.
The prosecution said the victim was rushed to the police hospital for treatment by a neighbour and she was admitted.
It said the convict was later arrested at the nearby construction site after intelligence was gathered.
The prosecution said the convict admitted the offence in his cautioned statement and led police to retrieve his security uniform kept in the victim’s room.