Justice Lydia Osei Marfo who sentenced Aisha Huang, a notorious Chinese galamsey kingpin, to four-and-a-half years in prison accompanied by a GH¢48,000 fine is reported to have expressed her willingness to give a stiffer punishment.
According to Justice Marfo's remarks during the sentencing on Monday, December 4, 2023, the crimes attributed to Aisha Huang were serious and detrimental to the state, and as a result, hence her dissatisfaction with the limited authority to impose a more severe punishment under the current legal framework.
The judge clarified that the prosecution operated under the constraints of Act 900, which capped the maximum penalty at five years for engaging in mining activities without a license.
She conveyed her desire for greater punitive measures, stating, "I wish I had the right to impose the punishment under the current law" before delivering her ruling.
Under the revised laws, the Minerals and Mining (Amendment) Act 2019, Act 995, Aisha Huang could have faced a substantially harsher sentence, ranging from a minimum of 15 years to a maximum of 25 years in prison.
The charges against Aisha Huang, levied in November 2022, encompassed engaging in mining activities without a license, facilitating unlicensed mining operations, illegal employment of foreign nationals, and entering Ghana while prohibited.
Notably, Huang had re-entered Ghana through the Aflao border in October 2022, despite having been deported in 2018. Similar charges were filed against her in the past, with the state filing a nolle prosequi before her deportation.
Throughout the year-long trial, Aisha Huang pleaded not guilty to all charges except entering Ghana while prohibited. The prosecution presented eleven witnesses, including farmers who sold lands to Huang and testified to witnessing her involvement in illegal mining.
AM/SARA
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Aisha Huang