By CHARLES MUSONDA
A LUSAKA businessman has been sentenced to 18 months imprisonment with hard labor for forgery, uttering false documents, and attempting to obtain money by false pretenses.
Before Lusaka Chief Resident Magistrate Lameck Mwale yesterday was Ernest Chipalo, 51, of Mtendere East Township. In the first count, particulars of the offense were that on August 23, 2018, Chipalo forged a Wonderful Industry Company Limited letter of transfer of funds purporting to show that it was genuinely issued and signed by the company when in fact not.
In the second count, the particulars were that on the same date Chipalo uttered a false Wonderful Industry Company Limited letter of transfer of funds in the names of Steven Chipeso to Mutemi Mwelwa. In the third count, he was charged with forging a Wonderful Industry Company Limited letter of transfer of funds in the name of Mwanja Kakusa by purporting to show that it was genuinely issued by the company when in fact not.
In count four, Chipalo was charged with knowingly and fraudulently uttering the same letter to Mutemi Mwelwa. In the fifth count, particulars were that the accused person attempted to obtain US$13, 500 from First Capital Bank by pretending that Wonderful Industry Company Limited had authorized the bank transfer of the money when in fact not.
In the sixth count, Chipalo was charged with purporting to be Mwanja Kakusa when in fact not. In his mitigation, Chipalo told the court that he will be an ambassador who will teach others the importance of following the law.
In sentencing Chipalo, Magistrate Mwale said the convict had pleaded guilty and he is a first offender who deserved lenience. He said Chipalo has spent considerable time in incarceration and that he has learnt a lesson after which he sentenced him to 18 months on all counts with effect from September 18, 2019.
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