The trial of Aisha Huang who faced charges for engaging in the sale of minerals and mining without license was delayed in the initial stages as the court had to issue an order for the Ghana Institute Languages to furnish it with a Chinese interpreter for the accused person who claimed not to understand English or any Ghanaian language.
But while undergoing cross-examination by the lawyer for the accused on Tuesday, November 15, 2022, Superintendent David Essien of the Ghana Immigration Service said the accused person from his encounter with her some years ago could express herself fluently in English and Twi.
“When I was taking the statement there was no interpreter. I went to deliver the invitation to the accused person; I am the same person that delivered the invitation letter to the accused and on the point of delivery I had a one-on-one with the accused and we spoke in English.
“When she honoured the invitation, during the interview we spoke in English and she responded in English and my lord she’s was fluent in English and she even speaks fluently in twi. So my lord at the point we were taking the statement she didn’t give us any indication that she needed an interpreter because she was very fluent. She understood all the information and appended her signature,” the witness told the court.
Superintendent David Essien on Monday, November 14, 2022, gave his witness statement to the Accra High Court presided by Justice Lydia Osei Marfo where he told the court about the two occasions he ever came into contact with the accused.
According to the prosecution witness, he first met the accused on August 30, 2016, when a publication about her alleged galamsey activities at Bepotenteng in Amansie Central District of the Ashanti Region was reported in the media.
The witness, who is an officer of the Ghana Immigration Service assigned to the enforcement unit, said he was tasked with investigating the report to ascertain the residence status of the accused as well as the allegations contained in the report.
He said the accused person honoured an invitation by the GIS and submitted her passport which showed her status as a permanent resident.
The witness added that he encountered the accused person a second time when a team of immigration officers arrested some Chinese nationals who were engaged in illegal mining activities at Bepotenteng in 2017.
The suspects told the arresting officers that they had their passports with the accused who is their employer.
Superintendent Essien said he later got the accused person to honour an invitation following which her statement was taken and she together with those arrested were sent to the head office of the Immigration Service in Accra.
During the cross-examination of the witness by the defence counsel, lawyer Nkrabea Effah Dartey questioned whether the first encounter between the witness and the accused person was only in reference to her immigration status.
But responding to the question, the witness said it was to investigate other issues about the accused person.
He said the investigations established that the accused had actually acquired her residency permit by purporting to have been married to a Ghanaian and backing same with forged documents.
“When we examined the passport she was on an indefinite permit which was granted her based on her supposed marriage to a Ghanaian known as Anthony Fabian. However, investigations conducted by the Ghana Immigration Service established that the accused used forged marriage certificate and forged Ghana passport in support of her application for the indefinite residence permit,” he said.
The witness told the court that the discovery led to the revocation of the permit granted to the accused and also led to her repatriation in 2018.
“As a result of this the comptroller general of the GIS revoked the indefinite residence permit on grounds of fraudulent misrepresentation in accordance with Section 22 Subsection 2 a of Immigration Act 2000 Act 573 which led to the subsequent repatriation of the accused on December 19, 2018,” he stated.
Aisha Huang is facing charges for engaging in mining and the sale of minerals without a license.
She was recently arrested in Ghana following her repatriation in 2018.
Aisha Huang, who is said to have been engaged in illegal mining upon her return to the country, according to the prosecution entered the country using forged documents and identity.
Hearing of the case is scheduled to continue on Wednesday, November 16, 2022, with the prosecution expected to call its third witness.
GA/FNOQ
Aisha Huang is following proceedings through an interpreter assigned by the court