…after stealing the veggies to make fast money.
A 32 year old Carpenter of Choma’s Masuku area will serve Nine months imprisonment with hard labour for stealing 300 heads of chemical sprayed Cabbage.
Byta FM Court news journalist reports that Oment Mtompis appeared Tuesday morning before Senior Resident Magistrate, Idah Mupemo on a charge of theft.
Mtompis is accused of working with other unknown persons to steal 300 heads of cabbage worth K3, 000 from Laston Munkombwe on 8th May – a charge he readily admits, but said he only got 67 Cabbages.
Court records reveal that Munkombwe left behind 600 heads of cabbage after spraying them on the material day, but was shocked to find his potentially poisonous veggies harvested in the morning.
Munkombwe testified that he found the accused person selling the Cabbage at Makalanguzu Market, one of Choma’s largest commodity markets.
The accused person, in mitigation, says his older brother influenced him to steal in order to find money for transport to see their mother in the village.
In her judgment Magistrate Mupemo noted with displeasure that the accused person endangered the public with food sprayed with chemical.
She has since sentenced him to 9 months in prison with hard labour with effect from the date of arrest.