AGYIRI v. COMMISSIONER OF POLICE

JUDGMENT OF MILLS-ODOI J.S.C.

Mills-Odoi J.S.C. delivered the judgment of the court. We allowed this appeal at the last sitting, and now give our reasons for so doing.

The appellant was, until the 18th October, 1961, an employee of the Ghana National Construction Corporation (hereinafter referred to as the corporation) and stationed at Takoradi. His duties included the preparation of orders for the supply of goods. According to the practice of the corporation, the orders were signed by the manager and sent to the suppliers whereupon the goods were supplied and delivered to the store-keeper of the corporation who signed a receipt for them. At the end of the month the suppliers sent a debit note to the corporation whose accountant authorised payment after satisfying himself that all was well.

On a particular date not specified on the record, the manager of Allied Business Company sent to the corporation a bill for the sum of £G15 16s., being the cost of three cases of nails which his company had supplied to the corporation on the 27th October, 1961, on the strength of an order from the said corporation dated the 25th October, 1961, and numbered 6354. The accountant of the corporation whose duty it was to authorise payment called for the storekeeper's books in order to satisfy himself that the nails had in fact been delivered to the corporation. He did [p.382] not find any record indicating that they had been received. He therefore called for the order book from which order form number 6354 was prepared; but he could not find it either. He became suspicious and reported the matter to the manager of the Takoradi branch of the corporation, because to the best of his knowledge the corporation did not transact any business with the Allied Business Company.

The evidence on record did not show that the matter was reported to the police. Nevertheless, the appellant was arrested and prosecuted at the Circuit Court, Takoradi, on charges of forgery of the order No. 6354 dated the 25th October, 1961 and stealing the three cases of nails valued at £G15 16s. He was acquitted and discharged on the charge of forgery, but was convicted of fraud by false pretences in respect of the other charge and sentenced to two years imprisonment with hard labour. He then appealed to this court.

The prosecution's case against the appellant depended solely on the evidence of the manager of the Allied Business Company who deposed at the trial, inter alia, as follows:

"On the 27th Oc