Court hands Phalombe hospital worker 5 years prison sentence for drug theft

The Phalombe Second Grade Magistrate Court has convicted and sentenced a 30-year-old hospital janitor to five years imprisonment with hard labour (IHL) for theft.

The court slapped Omali Maiteni with jail term for stealing medical supplies at Phalombe Health Centre.

Police arrested Maiteni on May 20th this year on his way to Mulanje district, following a tip off from members of the public.

At a time of his arrest, he was found with two bags full of assorted stolen medical supplies which included Syringes, Giving sets, Chlohexidine, Benzoic Acid, Lignocaine and Paraffin Gauze.

The convict confessed to the law-enforcers that he had been stealing the medical supplies for some time.

But in court, he pleaded not guilty to theft from a Public Office charge contrary to Section 282 (F) of the Penal Code.

The State managed to secure a conviction after parading several witnesses who testified against Maiteni.

In his mitigation, Maiteni pleaded for leniency on the excuse that he committed the offence out of ignorance.

Second Grade Magistrate, Lawrence Mangani said the convict deserved stiffer sentence considering the consequences of his conduct.

Mangani said by stealing the medical supplies, the convict denied poor people to access free medication.

Maiteni hails from Lomo village, T/A Mabuka in Mulanje district.

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