Aisha Huang, three others denied bail

The four who appeared before the court on September 14, 2022, pleaded not guilty to charges of mining without a license and engaging in the sale and purchase of minerals without a valid license.

Is allowance instantly strangers applauded

The Accra Circuit Court has for the second time remanded into police custody, infamous Chinese businesswoman, Aisha Huang and three others (Jong Li Hua, Huang Jei and Huaid Hai Hun), after it refused a bail request by lawyers of the accused persons.

The four who appeared before the court on September 14, 2022, pleaded not guilty to charges of mining without a license and engaging in the sale and purchase of minerals without a valid license.

Defence lawyer Nkrabea Effah Darteh had maintained that his clients were innocent until proven guilty and goes on to question recent comments by Attorney-General Dame at the Bar Conference, for the judiciary’s cooperation to successfully prosecute the matter.

He further maintains his clients have sureties to stand bail for them and accuses the media of overhyping the case, which he calls a ‘small matter.'

But the prosecution argued that the granting of bail had the tendency of jeopardizing police investigations.

“She has a history of deceiving persons and leaving the country. Granting the accused persons bail, especially the gentleman, where the investigation is still ongoing will jeopardize police investigation. A plea in custody is not a denial of their rights,” the Prosecutor told the court. 

Presiding judge, His Honour Samuel Bright Appiah in his ruling, denying them bail, indicated that the matter had become an issue of public interest both in Ghana and abroad. 

The case was subsequently adjourned to September 27, 2022. 

Background

Said to have exited Ghana in 2018 by a repatriation order issued by the Ghana Immigration Service for engaging in illegal mining ('galamsey'), Aisha Huang resurfaced when she was arrested and remanded for the same offence on September 5, 2022

Questions about her deportation in 2018 have recently sprung up. President Nana Akufo-Addo in an interview on Monday in Ho said he was unsure whether she was actually deported or fled Ghana.

"I’m not still sure whether she was in fact deported, or whether she fled the country the first time and has now come back. There still seems to be some uncertainty about it,” he said on Stone City FM.

The government, led by the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame say they are determined to prosecute her for current offences and those of the past. 

“The Attorney-General has called for the new docket on En Huang aka Aisha regarding offences she is suspected to have committed.

“The A-G will also re-initiate prosecution in respect of the old offences for which she was standing trial before her deportation in 2018," the office is reported to have said in a tweet on September 6, a day after she was remanded. 

President Nana Akufo-Addo also on Monday said he was going to support Mr. Dame for the prosecution of foreign nationals caught engaging in illegal mining. 

“May I learned colleagues, assure you of my full support to the attorney general in his determination to prosecute Aisha Huang and her collaborators, who apparently insisted on flouting our laws against galamsey and illegal mining.

“I expect that if they are found guilty, the courts would apply the full rigorous of the new amended act 995, which has increased substantially, the punishment for breaches of the Law,” he said at the Bar Conference.