Aisha Huang, three others denied bail third time by Circuit Court

Infamous Chinese businesswoman, En Hung or known as Aisha Huang, and three others (Jong Li Hua, Huang Jei, and Huaid Hai Hun) have been denied bail, the third time by an Accra Circuit Court on Tuesday.

This comes as the prosecution asked for more time to continue investigations.

The four pleaded not guilty again to charges of mining without a license and engaging in the sale and purchase of minerals without a valid license.

In his ruling denying the bail request, the court presided over by His Honour Bright Acquah noted wide-shared concerns about the activities of illegal mining, many times called ‘Galamsey.’

“This is an activity that is destroying our water bodies. If we allow this to go on, we will get to a point where we have to import water. The courts and everyone must take a strong stance. Aisha Huang especially, how she entered the country. She can’t even tell. If I grant bail, and tomorrow the case is called and she can’t be found. What happens? The motion for bail is refused,” he noted.

The case was subsequently adjourned to October 12, 2022.

Aisha Huang is also facing four fresh charges at the High Court. 

The Attorney General had filed the charges relative to offences she committed between 2015-2017.

The specific charges according to the new charge sheet filed on Friday, September 16, 2022, are;

Count One: Undertaking a mining operation without a license contrary to section 99(2)(a) of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006, Act 703 as amended by the Minerals and Mining (Amendment) Act 2019, Act 995.

Count Two: Facilitating the participation of persons engaged in a mining operation contrary to section 99 (2)(a) & (3) of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006, Act 703 as amended by the Minerals and Mining (Amendment) Act 2019, Act 995.

Count Three: Illegal employment of foreign nationals contrary to section 24 of the Immigration Act, 2000 (Act 573).

Count Four: Entering Ghana while prohibited from re-entry contrary to section 20(4) of the Immigration Act, 2000, Act 573.

The Attorney General is also expected to take over dockets from the National Security relative to Aisha’s latest offenses after the High Court Criminal Division, presided over by Justice Lydia Marfo on September 16, denied the accused bail in a virtual court session and adjourned the hearing to October 11, 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 in Ho, on September 12, 2022, 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.