Woman gets suspended sentence for house break-in

PATRICIA MAGANU
Staff Writer
& TEBOGO KGALEMANGStaff Writer
orrespondent | Tuesday November 9, 2010 00:00

Nomsa Modongo pleaded guilty to both charges.

Madandume sentenced the accused person to six months wholly suspended for the first count and to eight months wholly suspended for the second count.

Passing sentence, the magistrate said she had taken into consideration the fact that Modongo saved the court's time by pleading guilty and that she was a first offender. However, she said, the crime could not go unpunished because it was a serious offence.

'It is a serious offence and there is need for the interests of the accused to be weighed against the interests of society,' she said.

Information before court is that the accused person on June 23, 2010 broke into a house belonging to Seikisi Motobi and stole a DVD player worth P500 and an HP laptop worth P5,000.

The facts state that the accused person used a spare key she had cut to unlock the complainant's house, while the complainant was away at work and unaware that she had the key. After being confronted by the police, the accused admitted that she had taken the property and that she had sold it. The stolen items were brought before court as exhibits.

In her mitigation, the accused asked for mercy from the complainant, saying that she had pleaded guilty and was taking full responsibility for her actions. She said she had a child that she was taking care of and that she could not go to prison also because of her health.

'I am about to begin taking medication that I cannot take while I am in prison, so I am asking him to forgive me. I am guilty and I am sorry,' she said.