June 3, 2021
By: Francis F.M.Harding
Sahr Komba, accused person has appeared before Magistrate Sahr Keikura of Court No.1 Pademba road Freetown on the 2nd June, 2021.The accused person was refused bail and was sent back to the Male Correctional Center at Pademba Road in Freetown.
Sahr Komba was allegedly on four counts of embezzlement contrary to section 17 (1) (b) of the Larceny Act of 1916.
According to the police charged sheet, the accused person is in court on four counts charged. Count one is for embezzlement.
It’s alleged in count one that the accused person on the 12th November, 2019 at Micro-Bit Forex Office in Kono in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone, being a clerk or servant of Micro-Bit Forex Bureau fraudulently embezzled the sum of thirty million Leones (Le 30,000,000/00) received by you on account of the company`s name.
It’s alleged in count two that the accused person on the on the 20th December, 2019 at Micro-Bit Forex Office in Kono in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone, being a clerk or servant of Micro-Bit Forex Bureau fraudulently embezzled the sum of ten million Leones (Le 10,000,000/00) received on account of the company`s name.
It’s alleged in count three that the accused person on the24th December, 2019 at Micro-Bit Forex Office in Kono in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone, being a clerk or servant of Micro-Bit Forex Bureau fraudulently embezzled the sum of ten million Leones (Le 10,000,000/00) received on account of the company`s name. It is further alleged in court four that the accused person on the 6th January, 2020 at Micro-Bit Forex Office in Kono in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone, being a clerk or servant of Micro-Bit Forex Bureau fraudulently embezzled the sum of six million six hundred and seven five thousand Leones (Le 6,657,000/00) received on account of the company`s name.
The Prosecution has presented their final Police Witness to testify in the matter between the accused person Sahr Komba and Micro-Bit Forex Bureau.
Testifying in court, Police Witness Mohamed Barrie who is the auditor of the Micro-Bit Forex Bureau in Freetown testified that he knew the accused person as teller at the Kono branch in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone.
He said, he was the head of the auditing team that audited the accused person bank statement on the 16th January, 2020 at his office in Freetown.
The witness said he finds out that there was three dates that did not correspond to their records.
He continued to give the variance of the dates the; 12th November, 2019, 23rd December, 2019 and 6th January, 2020.
He said, the cash officer stated that he deposited fifty million Leones (Le 50,000,000/00) to the account of the company that bears the name.
Mr Barrie said according to the bank statement the accused person withdrew the account for the purpose of payment to customers. He said the accused person report to the finance person that he withdraws twenty million Leones (Le 20,000,000/00). He continued to say that on the 23rd December the company supplied the accused person with fifty million Leones (Le 50,000,000/00) but the accused person was having twenty million Leones (Le20,000,000/00) in the account which amounted to seventy million Leones (Le 70,000,000/00)
He noted that on that date, the accused person withdrew sixty million Leones (Le60,000,000/00) from the account and the accused person reported to the finance officer that he withdrew fifty million Leones (Le 50,000,000/00).
The witness testified that on the 24th December 2019, the company deposited to the accused person 100,000,000/00) and on that same date the accused person withdrew sixty million Leones (Le 60,000,000/00) but the accused person reported to the finance officer that he withdrew fifty million Leones (Le 50,000,000/00). The witness said the audit concluded that from the above dates the accused person has to pay fifty million Leones (Le 50,000,000/00) that he has not accounted for to the finance officer.
Mr Barrie said he audited the bank statement and he did it in a form of report for the three dates.
Under cross examination the accused person asked which date the auditor audit him. The witness said he audit him through the bank statement. The accused person asked if he had seen him during the auditing process. The witness said no.
The accused person asked the witness why he did not inform him about the bank auditing. He responded in the negative.
Inspector I.S. Mansaray is prosecuting for the State while there was no lawyer representing the accused person. The 9th June, 2021 has been slated for the ruling.