Twenty-your year-old conductor, Mohamed Kabba has made another appearance before Magistrate Santigie Bangura of the Pademba Road Court No.3 in Freetown on a count of Fraudulent Conversion contrary to Section 20 (1) (iv) (b) of the Larceny Act 1916.
According to the particulars of offence on Sunday 19 February 2023 at Lumley in the Western Area in Freetown fraudulently converted to his own use or benefit certain property that is to say; one HP laptop computer, one Itel mobile phone, one black burette of value to the total sum of Eight Thousand Eight Hundred New Leones (NLe 8,800) entrusted to him by Mamud Suliaman Conteh for the purpose of delivery property of the said complainant.
When the charge was read and explained to the accused, no plea was taken.
Magistrate Bangura delivered his ruling saying that it is because of the nature of the charge, the accused did not take a plea. He said he conducted a preliminary investigation to see if the prosecution would be able to adduce sufficient evidence that would establish a prema face case to be answered by him he further stated that trying to discharge this burden, the prosecution called three witnesses who testified against the accused person. He said in determining whether the accused has a case to answer, he considered the following; the evidence of the complainant, the prosecution witness number one that the accused offered to carry the properties in question for him from Freetown to his wife in Bo, which said properties he gave him, and despite several conversations between them the whole day, the accused could not deliver these items to his wife. Magistrate Bangura furthered that the prosecution witness number two that having been speaking with the accused on phone throughout the day to receive these items from him, and having travel from Bo to Kenema and back upon the direction and instructions given to the accused person yet still the accused person could not hand the above items to her Magistrate Bangura further stated that the admission of the accused person contained in his statement made to the police in Exhibit “A1-12” in which he said he indeed received the said properties in question from the complainant for onward transmission to his wife but forgot to deliver them to his wife as instructed upon reaching to Bo, in conclusion Magistrate Bangura said in this piece of evidence he is satisfied that he prosecution have raised a prema face case to be answered by the accused person on trial be therefore committed the matter to the High Court.
