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A Kumasi Circuit Court yesterday sentenced a 40-year-old businessman, Frimpong Steward, to 15 years� imprisonment with hard labour for causing harm to Abdulai Safainu Musah, an employee of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG). Steward was said to have used a machete to slash the middle finger of Musah�s right hand for disconnecting his (Steward�s) electricity meter which, according to the prosecution, was illegally acquired. Though Steward pleaded guilty to one count of causing unlawful harm, contrary to Section 69 of Act 29 (1960), the court entered a plea of not guilty for him after he had told the court that he had acted in self-defence. Self-defence He told the court that he had used the machete to defend himself because the complainant was holding a broken bottle and a piece of wood to attack him. However, after the trial, the Presiding Judge, Mr William Boampong, said he was not convinced by Steward�s explanation and that the businessman had been fully aware of what he was doing. He, therefore, found him guilty of the act and convicted him accordingly. In passing the judgement, Mr Boampong said he took into account the gravity of the crime and the fact that the action of the businessman had led to the victim losing some of his fingers. Facts Presenting the facts of the case, Inspector Gullivan Kwabena Tenkorang told the court that Musah had gone on his rounds of revenue mobilisation by the ECG at Breman in Kumasi on May 12, this year. He said as part of the exercise, the revenue collection staff of ECG had been instructed to disconnect those owing electricity bills. When Musah got to the convict�s house, �he saw an electricity meter which was illegal and not acquired from the ECG and so disconnected it�. Mr Tenkorang told the court that the convict, on seeing that Musah had disconnected the power, angrily confronted him and that compelled Musah to take to his heels. However, the prosecutor said, the convict followed Musah with a machete. When he got to him, Steward tried to slash Musah�s head, �but the complainant used his right hand to block the machete from hitting his head. In the process, the middle finger on his right hand got slashed�. He said Musah, who bled profusely, was rushed to hospital, while a report was made to the police for the arrest of the businessman.