AA Karu Upper Area Court, sitting in Abuja, on Wednesday, sentenced a lady, Blessing Mallem, to 10 months’ imprisonment for stealing her friends’ purses at a birthday party.

The convict, who resided at Aso ‘B’, Mararba, Nasarawa State, pleaded guilty to three counts of criminal breach of trust, cheating and theft.

The News Agency of Nigeria reported that the judge, Malam Hassan Ishaq, however, gave the convict an option of N25,000 fine.

Ishaq ordered her to pay N37,000 as compensation to the complainants and warned her to desist from crime.

Earlier, the prosecution counsel, Olanrewaju Osho, told the court that the complainants, Andrew Aloysius and Felicia Levi, reported the matter at the Nyanya Police Station on April 5.

He said the convict in February stole the purses containing valuables at a birthday party at Emzy Garden, Nyanya.

The prosecution said the purses contained a Tecno phone worth N30,000 and N7,000 cash.

The prosecutor added that during police investigation, the convict confessed that she sold the phone for N6,000 and spent the money.

He said the offence contravened sections 312 and 287 of the Penal Code.