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A circuit court at Mpraeso has sentenced a 32-year-old ex-convict to two years imprisonment in hard labour for stealing fermented cocoa beans. Kofi Nyarko, who returned from prison recently for committing the same offence, pleaded guilty to the charge of stealing. Inspector Christian Aponti told the court presided over by Mr Alex Ofori Owusu that on January 13, the complainant detected that some of his cocoa beans being fermented in his farm had been stolen. He said following a tip-off, someone accompanied him to confront the ex-convict in his village where he was drying some cocoa beans but he denied having stolen the cocoa beans. The prosecutor said a report was made to the Chief of the town who sent someone to accompany them to inspect Nyarko's farm to determine whether he had recently harvested cocoa but it was realized that he had no cocoa farm. He said Nyarko later confessed having stolen the fermented cocoa beans and was sent to the Nkawkaw police and charged with the offence. In his ruling, Mr Owusu said the ex-convict was a threat to the society and had to be put away for some time to enable farmers in the area to have the peace to cultivate their crops.