The Bekwai Circuit Court in the Ashanti Region has sentenced 27 year old Bismark Adu to 10 years’ imprisonment with hard labour after finding him guilty of unlawfully damaging property by setting a rented room on fire, destroying belongings valued at GH¢300,000 and cash amounting to GH¢15,000.
The sentence followed a trial presided over by His Honour Isaac Appiatu, during which the court found Adu guilty of causing unlawful damage.
Presenting the prosecution’s case, Detective Chief Inspector Paul Bagao told the court that the complainant, Owusu Evans, a commercial motor rider, lived with his wife, Mercy Owusu, in a rented single room within the family house of the accused at Manso Akropong, near Antoakrom in the Amansie West District.
The prosecution explained that the couple had occupied the room for approximately five months without experiencing any difficulties.
However, on Sunday, August 30, 2026, at about 8:30 a.m., Evans reportedly left home to purchase an item from a nearby shop while his wife and the other occupants of the house had gone to church.
Upon returning, he encountered Adu holding a machete after allegedly chopping the wooden door to his room into pieces. When Evans demanded an explanation, Adu reportedly claimed that he had previously occupied the room and wanted to retrieve some belongings.
According to the prosecution, Adu forcibly entered the room but failed to find the items he was looking for. An argument subsequently broke out, during which Evans overpowered him and drove him away from the premises.
Evans then left to engage a carpenter to repair the damaged door. However, when he returned approximately 20 minutes later, he discovered that his room was engulfed in flames.
The complainant reportedly attempted to retrieve his belongings through a window but found that it had also been damaged with a machete. Despite his calls for assistance, the fire consumed his personal possessions, estimated to be worth GH¢300,000, alongside GH¢15,000 in cash.
After firefighters had extinguished the blaze, a bottle containing traces of petrol was reportedly discovered inside the room. The Ghana National Fire Service was subsequently invited to examine the scene.
With assistance from fellow commercial motor riders, Evans pursued Adu and apprehended him as he was returning to Antoakrom. He was subsequently handed over to the Antoakrom Police. The prosecution stated that Adu was arrested without a warrant on August 30, 2026.
Adu was brought before the Bekwai Circuit Court on September 2, 2026, and charged with causing unlawful damage, contrary to Section 172(1)(b) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29).
Following the trial, the court found him guilty of the offence and imposed a 10 year custodial sentence with hard labour.
The destruction resulted in reported losses totalling GH¢315,000, comprising the value of the complainant’s personal belongings and the cash lost in the fire.
