I wish I could give you harsher punishment – Judge tells Aisha Huang
Justice Lydia Osei Marfo, the judge responsible for sentencing Aisha Huang, the Chinese national notorious for her involvement in illegal mining (Galamsey), has expressed a desire for a more stringent punishment. Aisha Huang was sentenced to four and a half years in prison and fined GH¢48,000.
During the sentencing on Monday, December 4, Justice Lydia Osei Marfo emphasized the severity of Aisha Huang’s crimes and their detrimental impact on Ghana. She revealed that Aisha Huang was prosecuted under Act 900, which had a maximum penalty of five years for unauthorized mining activities. The judge lamented the limitations of the Act and expressed her wish to impose a longer prison term if the law allowed.
Under the amended Minerals and Mining Act of 2019 (Act 995), Aisha Huang could have faced a minimum of 15 years and a maximum of 25 years in prison. The charges against Aisha Huang included engaging in mining without a license, facilitating unauthorized mining operations, employing foreign nationals illegally, and entering Ghana while prohibited. Despite being deported in 2018, she reportedly re-entered Ghana in October 2022 to resume illegal mining activities.
Aisha Huang pleaded not guilty to most charges except entering Ghana while prohibited. The trial, spanning over a year, included eleven witnesses and video evidence demonstrating the environmental damage caused by Aisha Huang. The judge concluded that the state had sufficiently proven its case against her.
Source: Pulse Ghana