Magistrate Pa Harry Jammeh of the Brikama Magistrates Court, yesterday, turned the wrath of the law on three butchers who pleaded guilty to a charge of cheating, contrary to Section 290 of the criminal code of The Gambia.

Amadou Sowe, Omar Jawara and Sheikh Gaye were convicted for possessing false scales in their shops and fraudulently selling meat to one Yassin Kujabie, Sheriff Barrow and Lamin Jammeh at Brikama market.

The magistrate sentenced them to three months mandatory jail terms each, with hard labour and, in addition, fined them D5,000 each. He also levied an optional sentence of one year on each of them, should they fail to pay their fine.

The facts
In narrating the facts before the court, the police prosecutor, Inspector Samateh, revealed that on the day of the incident, the police had gone on an inspection of butcheries within the Brikama market area, working on the suspicion that some butchers were engaged in the act of tampering with their scales, with the intention of 'cheating' their customers.

Inspector Samateh went on to tell the court that when the information of the dubious act was related to the Weigh and Measures Department (a unit responsible for measures), they collectively mounted an investigation. He further narrated that on their arrival, they saw some customers who had just bought meat. Investigations into the source of the meat "led the investigation team to the accused butchers", he said.

According to Inspector Samateh, while interrogating the accused, it was discovered that they had been used to fiddling with their scales while selling meat to customers.

"They were then arrested and taken to the Brikama Police Station," he said, adding that statements were later taken from the cheated customers before cautionary and voluntary statements were taken from the three accused persons. He told the court that the said scales were also seized and their owners accordingly charged.

Inspector Samateh then applied to tender the said scales as exhibits, which was granted by the presiding magistrate without any objection from the convicts.

Mitigation
In their mitigation plea, the convicts begged the court to have mercy and not to impose custodial sentences on them.

The first convict, Amadou Sowe, said that he was a family man with six children, all of whom relied on him for their feeding, education and even clothing. He promised the court that he would never repeat the act.

The second convict, Omar Jawara, begged the court to put into consideration the fact that he had been in the business for 17 years without having committed any such crime. He urged the court to have mercy on him, noting the fact that he is a responsible person with two children. He said he regretted his actions, describing them as mistakes. Sheikh Gaye, the third convict, also made a similar mitigation plea.

Verdict
"Why should I have mercy on you?" Magistrate Jammeh asked the three. He put it to them that the offence they had committed was a serious one, describing it as a cause for concern. "You have tampered with your scales in a cheating manner," he told them.
"Having convicted each of you and having heard your pleas of mitigations, there is the need to send out a strong warning to the butchery community out there," he stated, before sentencing them accordingly.