The Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has expressed dissatisfaction with the sentencing of Aisha Huang, a Chinese illegal mining kingpin, by an Accra High Court.
Huang was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison and a GH₵48,000 fine, a decision that Mr. Dame finds relatively lenient.
In a press statement released on Tuesday, Mr. Dame shared his concerns about the trial judge's decision to sentence Aisha Huang under Act 900. He concurred with critics who argued that the imposed sentence did not align with the gravity of her actions under Act 995.
“While applauding the efficiency of the justice delivery system witnessed in the trial of Aisha Huang, the Attorney-General will, however, test the soundness of the decision of the trial court to punish the accused person under Act 900, by filing an appeal at the Court of Appeal, against the sentence to ensure that the new sentencing regime imposed by Act 995 is applied to the accused person.”
Surprisingly, Justice Lydia Osei Marfo, the judge who sentenced Aisha Huang, expressed a preference for a more stringent sentence if she had the authority. Justice Lydia Osei Marfo stated that the crimes committed by Aisha Huang were serious and detrimental to the State.
During her ruling on Monday, December 4, she clarified that the prosecution of the Chinese national was conducted under Act 900, which previously stipulated a maximum penalty of five years for engaging in mining activities without a license.
She noted that the limitations of the Act prevented her from imposing a heftier sentence.
“I wish I had the right to punish under the current law,” Justice Lydia Marfo noted before giving her sentence. Aisha Huang faced charges of conducting a mining operation without a license, aiding the involvement of individuals in mining operations, employing foreigners illegally, and entering Ghana while prohibited from re-entry.
