The businessman, who disputes the ownership of a plot of land measuring 14,922 square meters, located in the urban district of Kikuxi, municipality of Viana, in Luanda, with the plaintiff, his then client and friend, also a Portuguese businessman, was also sentenced to immediate restitution of the property.
The ruling in the case, which originated in a dispute regarding a concrete mixer pump for the construction sector, which would be imported from Portugal, but whose deal was not completed, and which escalated to the claim of ownership of the land, was read this Friday on Friday by judge Antonio José Eduardo, who, in the end, accepted the appeals presented by the Public Ministry and the defendant's defense, so that the case will go to the Court of Appeal.
According to the magistrate, it was proven, in court, that the 74-year-old accused has no evidence regarding the ownership of the property, where he built workshops, stores and residential areas, and that the land was sold to the plaintiff by his son.
He issued an irrevocable declaration in favor of the complainant, recognized by the Portuguese notary services, the judge highlighted, citing the case file, and added that the defendant did not pay taxes on the property and bribed municipal inspection agents to use the space.
For committing the crime of breach of trust, the defendant was sentenced to three years in prison and, for the crime of usurpation of property, to two years, having been, in legal terms, sentenced to a single sentence of three years in prison.
He was also sentenced to the immediate restitution of the property, free of all movable means and other obstacles placed by the defendant, to its legitimate owner, the restitution of a 58-meter concrete pump (a small cement production truck for civil construction) and the delivery of four concrete mixer pumps.
The facts date back to 2017, when the plaintiff allegedly asked the accused to exchange his 58 concrete pump for a 41 pump, which belonged to him, a verbal agreement that was never implemented because the bomb was never imported from Portugal. , but the anger escalated and ended in a fight for possession of the land where the defendant built his enterprise.
This Friday, the Portuguese man, born in Santarém, was also sentenced to pay 400 thousand dollars for the 41 meter bomb, which, to this day, has not been delivered to the complainant, and to pay 2.1 billion kwanzas to title of compensation to the offended party and the payment of 1.5 million kwanzas in court fees.
The execution of the custodial sentence imposed was suspended for a period of four years, given the degree of culpability, the circumstances and the age of the defendant, argued the judge, noting that he "must repair in whole or in part the damages to the offended party within one year and not commit any intentional crime, under penalty of suspension of the measure and immediate conviction".
Gika Ramiro de Castro, the plaintiff's assistant lawyer, said he was satisfied with the court's decision, which "did justice", considering that, at the stage of evidence production, all documentation certifying ownership of the land was presented.
The Public Prosecutor's Office expressed itself to be "partially unhappy" with the sentencing decision and filed an ordinary appeal, requesting that it be admitted with suspensive effect.
In turn, the defense, in the voice of lawyer Vitorino Catombela Sá, also filed an appeal, expressing "nonconformity" with the decision.
The judge admitted both appeals, so the case goes to the Court of Justice, which must assess the merits of the judgment.
