Court to hear Aisha Huang and 4 others' bail application May 23

The Criminal Division of the Accra High Court will on Monday, May 23, 2017 hear a bail application filed by En Huang [Aisha] and the four other Chinese nationals said to be involved in illegal mining [galamsey].

Lawyers for Huang, who is said to be a kingpin in the galamsey business and the others, Gao Jin Cheng, 45; Lu Qi Jun, 39; Haibin Gao, 26; Zhang Zhipen, 23 were supposed to move the bail application today but the Attorney General requested for more time to respond to it.

Senior State Attorney, Ms Mercy Arthur explained to the court, presided over by Mr Justice Charles Ekow Baiden, that the state received docket of the case on Wednesday; hence the need for more time to respond appropriately to the bail application.

Ms Arthur also informed the court that the state intended to charge the five alleged “galamseyers’’ under the Minerals and Mining Act, (Act 703).

According to Graphic Online's court reporter, Emmanuel Ebo Hawkson, that day is the same day the five Chinese would also appear before the court after being remanded for two weeks.

The court remanded them on May 9, 2017 after a request from the Ghana Immigration Service that investigations into their activities were still ongoing.