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8 yrs in jail for burglary
By
Joseph Langa - 23-05-2002 |
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A man in Nkhotakota was earlier this week sentenced to eight-and-a-half years imprisonment with hard labour after being found guilty on three counts of burglary and theft, the police have said.
Police said in a statement that James Chimude, 30, of Chingale Village in Traditional Authority Mwadzama in the district, was arrested on March 15 this year for breaking into houses and stealing several items, including a bicycle.
Chimude is said to have pleaded guilty to all charges.
Nkhotakota First Grade Magistrate Stanley Chirwa said in an interview Chimude was sentenced to six years on the first count of burglary, two years on petty theft and one-and-a-half years on theft of a bicycle. The sentences will run concurrently.
Chirwa said the accused complained in mitigation that his parents were not aware about his arrest and asked for leniency since he was a first offender.
But Chirwa said he did not take into account what the convict said in mitigation, saying the eight-and-a-half-year sentence was lenient enough as his offence was serious and would have carried life imprisonment or capital punishment. |
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