Dame Wants Stiffer Punishment for Aisha Huang
The Attorney-General (A-G) and Minister of Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has decided to appeal against the Accra High Court’s decision to jail Aisha Huang for four years, six months.
The move, he explained, is to test the soundness of the trial court’s decision to punish the prominent illegal miner under the Minerals and Mining (Amendment) Act, 2015 (Act 900), and ensure that the new sentencing regime imposed by the Minerals and Mining (Amendment) Act, 2019 (Act 995), is applied to the convict.
In a statement dated December 6, 2023, Mr Dame, therefore, entreated the public to desist from making further comments on the judgment, saying that could not only jeopardise the sound and efficient administration of justice but also undermine the fight against illegal mining.
On December 4, this year, galamsey kingpin, Aisha Huang, was jailed four-and-a-half years by the Accra High Court for engaging in illegal mining.
In addition to the custodial sentence, Huang was also fined GH¢48,000.
She is to be deported after serving her jail term and paying the fine imposed by the Criminal Division of the Accra High Court after finding her guilty of undertaking a mining operation without a licence, facilitating the participation of persons engaged in a mining operation and illegal employment of foreigners.
The jail term was in respect of offences she committed between 2015 and 2017 before she was first deported in 2018 following the A-G’s decision to discontinue the case.
After convicting the Chinese, the presiding judge, Justice Lydia Osei Marfo, said she wished she could have given her a longer sentence.
SOURCE: graphiconline
