ANSAH-SASRAKU vs. THE STATE

JUDGMENT OF APALOO J.S.C. Apaloo J.S.C. delivered the judgment of the court. On 9 April 1965, the appellant was convicted by the District Court, Tema, of the offence of fraud by false pretences and was sentenced by the High Court, Accra, under the Punishment of Habitual Criminals, Act, 1963,1 to ten years’ preventive custody with productive hard labour. The facts which gave rise to the prosecution and which the learned district magistrate found are as follows: some time in January 1965, the complainant who was an engineering superintendent of the Ministry of Agriculture was in dire need of money. He required the money to make good some defalcations committed in his department by his subordinate officers. As the complainant was not himself in funds, his wife saw the appellant who is a relation of her’s and requested him to give a loan to the complainant. The appellant agreed to grant a loan of £G300 to the complainant. Accordingly, the latter came down to Accra from Dunkwa for thi...