A Zuba Upper Area Court, Abuja, on Thursday sentenced a trader, Mutari Bala, to six months imprisonment, for stealing a gas cylinder.

Bala, of Orange Market Mararba, Nasarawa State, pleaded guilty to criminal trespass and theft and begged for leniency.

The Judge, Gambo Garba, however, gave the convict an option to pay a fine of N20,000, and warned him to desist from committing crime in the future.

Earlier, the prosecution counsel, Chinedu Ogada, told the court that the complainant, Shittu Osigwa of Kubwa Abuja, with the help of the police, arrested the convict on March 11.

Ogada said the convict criminally trespassed into the complainant’s compound at Christmas Street Kubwa Abuja and dishonestly stole away his cooking gas cylinder valued N14,500.

He said the complainant raised an alarm and the convict was caught.

Ogada stated that during police interrogation and investigation, the convict confessed to the crime and the cooking gas cylinder was recovered from him

The prosecutor said the offence contravened sections 342 and 287 of the Penal Code.