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THE ELMINA Magistrate Court in the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem (KEEA) Municipality of the Central Region yesterday sentenced a 28-year-old Kumasi based trader, Aba Kukua, to eight months� imprisonment in hard labour for stealing a four-month-old baby girl. Her plea of not guilty with an explanation was not taken by the court and was subsequently slapped with the sentence. The court presided over by Stephen Tabrri convicted Kukua under Section 93, Act 29(6) of the Criminal Code and ordered that the baby be given back to her mother. Presenting the facts, Detective Chief Inspector Eugene Nyavor said Aba Kukua was nabbed on July 16, 2011 by the chief of Atonkwa, a suburb of Elmina and brought to the Elmina Police where she was interrogated on the baby theft. According to him, Kukua tried to convince the baby�s mother, Amina Abiba and her relatives who live at Atonkwa to allow Amina and her baby to go with her to Kumasi where she would introduce her into trading to enable her to cater for herself and the baby but the family disagreed. Inspector Nyavor said on July 13, Kukua secretly took Abiba and the child to Mankessim with the intention of sending them to Kumasi without the consent of Amina�s family. He said upon reaching the Mankessim Lorry Park, Abiba went to pass water and left the child in the care of Kukua but when she returned, she could not locate the whereabouts of her four-month-old baby and Kukua. This compelled Abiba to lodge a complaint at the Mankessim Police Station. Inspector Nyavor added that relatives and friends later called and informed Abiba that her child had been found in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region where she was arrested and brought back to the Elmina Police. After police interrogation, Kukua was charged with the offence of child stealing and subsequently jailed. Information gathered by Daily Guide indicated that Kukua is married to a man who lives in Drobo in the Brong Ahafo Region. She informed the husband that she had given birth to a four-month-old baby and that he would see the baby when she returned to Drobo.