By Mohamed J Kargbo
Samuel Caulker, a vehicle mechanic, has been remanded by Magistrate Sahr Kekura for defrauding one Charles Abass Bangura, a legal practitioner.
Caulker is standing trial on three count charges including malicious damage, obtaining money by false pretenses contrary to section 32(1) 0f the Larceny Act 1916.
He is accused of maliciously damaging the side mirror of one Toyota sport edition, a property belonging to Charles Abass Bangura and valued at $850 (Le19, 997).
The Mechanic is also accused of obtaining the sum of (Nle9, 000) from Abass Bangura to amend the steering of his sport Edition Toyota Forerunner Jeep with registration number AUN 929, but he never did the work. Count three of the charges says Caulker also obtained Nle2, 500 from the complainant with the pretext to amend a sensor problem on his Benz C 300 with registration number ARK512, knowing it to be false.
Testifying in court, the complainant said he recognized the accused person in the dock as his Mechanic, and recalled giving him his Toyota to change its oil on a date unknown between October and November 2023. But he said he later noticed the mirror on the right of the vehicle had been removed and replaced with a damaged one when the mechanic returned the vehicle to him.
According to the complainant, Caulker was arrested in a nightclub at around Lumley and Aberdeen.
His lawyer sought for a short adjournment date for him to cross examine the witness and later made application for his client to be granted bail.
But Magistrate Kekura refused and remanded the accused at the Male Correctional Center due to the seriousness of the charges against him. The matter was adjourned to the 21st February 2024, for further hearings.
