The punishment would have been more severe if the man had not pleaded guilty.
A Kaduna Chief Magistrates’ Court, on Thursday ordered a 30-year-old man, Garba Aliyu, to sweep the court premises for three weeks for stealing women’s purse.
Aliyu was convicted and sentenced after he pleaded guilty to theft. The Magistrate, Ibrahim Emmanuel, said the convict’s plea had saved the court the pains of a prolonged prosecution, adding that the punishment would have been more severe if he had not pleaded guilty.
Emmanuel said that in arriving at the sentence, the court took into consideration the fact that the convict was a first time offender who was remorseful. He also advised him to be of good behavior, stressing that the court frowned at acts of violence.
“Desist from such acts in future and become a better citizen and human being,’’ he advised.
Earlier, the Prosecutor, Insp. Chidi Leo, told the court that on May 7, the convict criminally trespassed into the shop of one Adanna Ebuka located at Kano Road along Ahmadu Bello Way Kaduna.
Leo said that the convict went into the shop and stole a purse belonging to the complainant while pretending to buy a loaf of bread. He added that during police investigation, the said purse was recovered from the convict.
The prosecutor said the offence contravened the Penal Code of Kaduna State, 2017.