Cleaner jailed 3yrs for stealing $5,000

Accra, Ghana - 17 May, 2025 - An Accra Circuit Court has sentenced a 26-year-old woman to three years in prison for stealing $5,000 from a lawyer’s office drawer to fund personal purchases.

Linda Teiko Teye, who was unemployed at the time but working informally as a cleaner, pleaded guilty to charges of unlawful entry and theft. The Court, presided over by Mr. Isaac Addo, sentenced her to 36 months on each count. However, the sentences will run concurrently.

The prosecution, led by Chief Inspector Jonas Lawer, told the Court that the complainant, whose name was withheld, is a lawyer residing in Haatso, Accra. Linda, meanwhile, lived in Teshie Mangoase and occasionally worked as a cleaner in one of the apartments in the same building as the lawyer’s office located at Tse-Addo.

On April 2, 2025, the complainant left $7,500 in his office drawer, locked it, but inadvertently left the key behind. When he returned on April 19, he discovered that $5,000 had gone missing. He immediately reported the matter to the “Rasta” Police Station.

As part of investigations, police received intelligence that Linda had recently been seen spending large amounts of U.S. dollars. Acting on this information, officers visited her residence on April 21, 2025, where she was arrested.

A search of her room uncovered a variety of newly purchased items, including a bed, mattress, two-in-one sofa, bedsheets, three dresses, standing fan, rice cooker, blender, duvet, iPhone 6x, gas cylinder, six ladies’ bags, footwear, and a kettle.

According to the prosecution, Linda admitted during interrogation that she had monitored the lawyer’s routine and discovered that he often hid his office keys on a window ledge. Taking advantage of this, she accessed the office, unlocked the drawer, and stole the cash.

Linda also confessed that she used the stolen money to purchase all the items found in her possession. She managed to refund $500 of the stolen amount.

The court concluded that the evidence, including her confession and the recovered items, confirmed her guilt beyond a doubt.

Source: GNA