Four alleged accomplices of Aisha Huang 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.