Accra: A 24-year-old woman has been sentenced by an Accra Circuit Court to 12 months in prison after being found guilty of stealing a 50-inch television from Teshie Military Barracks in Accra.

According to Ghana News Agency, Mawuena Tamakloe was convicted on charges of unlawful entry and theft of a television valued at GHC8,900. The court handed down a 12-month prison sentence for each charge after she pleaded guilty. During the proceedings, Chief Inspector Clemence Takyi, who led the prosecution, informed the court that a pregnancy test conducted on Tamakloe returned negative results.

The prosecution detailed how Tamakloe managed to escape custody after the test, crossing a main road near the police station and boarding a commercial vehicle and a taxi. However, a rider assisted the female case investigator in apprehending her by chasing down the two vehicles.

The court, presided over by Mrs. Susan Edufful, took into account Tamakloe’s age, her status as a first-time offender, her request for leniency, and the value of the stolen item when determining the sentence. The prosecution had previously requested the withdrawal of a charge related to unlawful damage to the television, which belonged to the Church of Pentecost (COP) Whistler Barracks Worship Centre.

Chief Inspector Takyi narrated that the complainant, Ebenezer Oppong Aboagye, an Elder of the COP Whistler Barracks Worship Centre, reported the incident after Mawuena was seen by military officers carrying the television out of the barracks on May 15, 2025. The officers, suspicious of her explanation, handed her over to the Military Police for further questioning, during which she confessed to the theft.

The police, along with the complainant and Tamakloe, later visited the church, where they discovered damage to the inner wooden door of the head pastor’s office. Tamakloe admitted to the theft in her caution statement, leading to her subsequent sentencing.