The Attorney general and minister of justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has told an Accra High Court presided over by Justice Lydia Osei Marfo, that the state will file eight witness statements in the trial of galamsey kingpin Aisha Huang.
According to him, he initially filed four witness statements but the state will withdraw them and file a fresh set of eight witness statements.
The case was subsequently adjourned to 24 October 2022 for the AG to file the documents.
Aisha Huang is facing trial over four charges preferred against her by the state.
Charges
The accused person is charged with four counts. The first count is “undertaking a mining operation without a licence 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 2: 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 3: Illegal employment of foreign nationals contrary to section 24 of the Immigration Act, 2000 (Act 573).
Count 4: Entering Ghana while prohibited from re-entry contrary to section 20(4) of the Immigration Act, 2000, Act 573.
Accomplices denied bail
Four persons, who are alleged to be accomplices of the popular galamsey kingpin Aisha Huang were on Tuesday (11 October) denied bail.
The high court presided over by Justice Lydia Osei Marfo subsequently ordered the accused persons to be remanded into prison custody pending the outcome of their trial.
The four include three Chinese nationals and a Vietnamese whose permit to stay in Ghana is said to have expired.
The accused persons are Chinese nationals; Shi Yang alias Philip, Li Wei Guo and Shi Mei Zhi and Nguyen Thi Thanh Tuyen, a Vietnamese national.
The three Chinese accused persons have been charged with engaging in small scale-mining mining without a licence, contrary to section 99(2)(a) of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703) as amended by Act 995 of 2019.
Nguyen Thi Thanh Tuyen, the Vietnamese national has been charged with the offence of remaining in Ghana after the expiration of a permit contrary to sections 20(1) and 52(1)(d) of the Immigration Act, 2000 (Act 573).
The plea of the three Chinese nationals were taken and they all pleaded not guilty. However, that of the fourth accused person, Nguyen Thi Thanh Tuyen, the Vietnamese national, was not taken because of language difficulties.
The court ordered the Institute of Languages at the University of Ghana, to furnish it with an officer who can speak Vietnamese to assist the court in taking the plea of the fourth accused person.
The case has been adjourned to Tuesday 1 November 2022, to take the plea of the fourth accused person and to commence case management conference.
Wilberforce Asare
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