WINDHOEK – A 35-year-old man was fined N$500 or alternatively 90 days in jail in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court on Monday for stealing a muffin and five cakes valued at N$300 from his employer.
Josef Albertse pleaded guilty to the charge that he stole the confectionaries from Puma Service Station where he was employed on July 12 last year. At his first court appearance he indicated that he would apply for Legal Aid, but during Monday’s appearance he told Magistrate Nuule that Legal Aid informed him that they cannot assist him since the value of the stolen items is too low. During mitigation Albertse told Nuule that he is a single father of an 8-year-old boy who lives with his mother and that he pays N$500 in maintenance for the boy every month. He further informed the court that he is unemployed since he got fired from his job and that his brothers help him out occasionally. He pleaded with the court to have mercy on him and said that it is his first time to be in conflict with the law and promised not to do it again. Albertse who was out on bail of N$500 told Nuule that it is all he can afford as a fine. Prosecutor Elina Hashipara said that although the accused is a first offender, the offence he is convicted of is prevalent with no signs of abating and is punishable by law.
She however asked the court to consider the value of the items and proposed a fine of N$500 or one month imprisonment, which Nuule agreed to.
By Roland Routh