An unemployed man, Foster Nyarko, 36, has been sentenced to two years in prison for stealing a laptop at the Ministry of Labour, Jobs and Employment in Accra.
Nyarko, who visited the Ministry seeking a cleaning job, pleaded guilty to charges of unlawful entry and theft.
The Accra Circuit Court, presided over by Basilia Adjei-Tawiah, handed him a concurrent sentence of one year for unlawful entry and two years for theft.
The prosecution revealed that Nyarko had been previously jailed this year for stealing a mobile phone at the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) while job hunting.
The incident occurred on December 4, 2024, when a lawyer at the Ministry left his office unattended.
Instead of meeting the Human Resource Director as directed, Nyarko entered the office of the Director of Policy, Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation and stole an HP laptop worth GHC24,745.
He concealed the device in his backpack and left the premises.
Nyarko admitted to the crime during investigations, confessing to selling the laptop to an unknown buyer in Takoradi.
The case raises concerns over security in public institutions and the impact of unemployment on desperate individuals.
