By Nicholas Bass
A 62-year-old man was Thursday fined D16,000following his guilty plea over obtaining money by false pretenses and stealing D1.35m.
Alpha Jallow appeared before Principal Magistrate Omar Jabang of the Kanifing Magistrates, where he admitted guilt for obtaining D1,035,000 from one Dam Gaye in a land transaction.
Narrating the facts of the case before the court yesterday, the prosecution officer ASP Touray stated that Alpha Jallow falsely obtained D 1,035,000 from Dam Gaye for a plot of land that he(Jallow) re-sold to another person.
Jallow did not object to ASP Touray’s narration but appealed with the court to show him clemency, saying he had two wives and children.
However, according to Principal Magistrate Jabang, the offense of obtaining money by false pretenses attracts three years imprisonment while theft attracts a five-year jail term.
“However, I shall not sentence Alpha Jallow to a mandatory sentence based on his plea of mitigation,” Jabang noted.
Consequently, he sentenced Jallow to a custodial fine of D 6,000 on count one in default to serve two years imprisonment. He was fined D10,000 on count two in default to serve three years imprisonment with hard labor.