The most talked about Chinese national, En Huang alias Aisha Huang’s marriage certificate, which gave her the impetus as indefinite residence permit in Ghana, was allegedly forged.
This was according to the Superintendent of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), David Essien, who testified as the Attorney-General’s (A-G) second prosecution witness (PW2) yesterday.
He told the Accra Criminal High Court, presided over by Justice Lydia Osei Marfo, while being cross-examined by Aisha Huang’s defence counsel, Captain Nkrabeah Effah Dartey (rtd), that Aisha’s marriage to one Anthony Fabian who was believed to be a Ghanaian, never existed.
This follows an investigation conducted by the GIS, which established that Aisha Huang, who is currently being tried for facilitating the participation of persons engaged in a mining operation and employment of foreign nationals, used a forged marriage certificate and forged Ghana passport to support her application for the indefinite residence permit.
“My lord, as a result of this, the Comptroller General of Ghana Immigration Service revoked her (Aisha Huang) indefinite residence permit on the grounds of fraudulent misrepresentation, in accordance with section 22(2)(a), Immigration Act 2000 (Act 573), which led to the subsequent repatriation of the accused on 19th December, 2018,” he asserted.
PW2 also told the court that he has had two encounters with the accused before the current trial.
His first encounter with the accused was on August 30, 2016, when the latter was invited to the Kumasi Enforcement Unit of the GIS, following media publications and accusations on August 24, 2016, that Aisha Huang was engaged in galamsey (illegal mining), leading to tension mounting in the Amansie Central District of the Ashanti Region.
According to him, in the said publications, the accused allegedly had encroached upon other people’s concessions and her illegal activities had caused destruction of the environment, especially water bodies.
He added that it was also reported that Aisha’s alleged illegal mining activities had also caused the lives of some six individuals or children.
Supt Essien indicated that after Aisha’s statement was taken, she was allowed to go.
The witness added that his second encounter with the accused was on May 5, 2017, when some four Chinese nationals were arrested at Bepopotenten for engaging in illegal mining (galamsey).
PW2 explained that Aisha was invited to their office, because the Chinese nationals who were arrested mentioned Aisha Huang as the one who had employed them, and had in her possession their passports.
He said Aisha arrived earlier than the arresting officers at the unit, but could not wait for them.
The witness, while being led by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Yvonne Atakora Obuobisa, to give his evidence-in-chief, said it took a tug-of-war before Aisha reported back to the GIS Enforcement Unit.
He told the court that when the arresting officers finally arrived with the suspects and Aisha was called on her phone, she refused to answer.
But later when they got in touched with her, she allegedly told the officers that she did not care if her employees were taken to Accra.
“It took a great effort to get her to follow us to our office. The accused eventually came to our office, and she gave us her passport and the passports of Haibin Gao and Zhang Zhupeng,” he added.
The witness further stated that the statement was taken of the accused on May 6, 2017, and on the next day, the accused, together with the other Chinese nationals, were transported to the GIS Headquarters in Accra.
Interpretation challenge
While the witness was giving his evidence-in-chief, the accused informed the court that she did not understand what the Chinese interpreter was speaking.
The court paused proceedings and the interpreter was replaced by another who aided the police to take Aisha Huang’s statement.
Cross-examination
Q. My lord, my first salvo. You told this court that you have met the accused on two separate occasions?
A. Yes.
Q. On the first occasion it was in connection with a publication on myjoyonline?
A. Yes.
Q. In reference to that publication, your boss ordered you to ascertain the immigration status of the accused?
A. Yes.
Q. So your first encounter with the accused was in reference to her immigration status only?
A. No my lord. According to my Witness Statement, it is to ascertain her immigration status and the situation on the ground.
When we examined the accused person’s indefinite residence passport, which was granted to her based on her supposed married to a Ghanaian known as Anthony Fabian.
However, investigations conducted by the Ghana Immigration Service established that the accused person used [a] forged married certificate and forged Ghana passport in support of her application for the indefinite residence permit.
My lord, as a result of this, the Comptroller General of [the] GIS, revoked her indefinite residence permit on ground of fraudulent misrepresentation in accordance with section 22 (2)(a), which led to Immigration Act 200 (Act 573), which led to the subsequent repatriation of the accused on 19 December, 2018.
Background
On May 5, 2017, at about 12:00pm, officers of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), Obuasi Municipal Command, arrested four male Chinese nationals, namely Gao Jin Cheng, Lu Qi Jun, Haibin Gao and Zhang Ziupeng, who were actively engaged on an illegal mining site at Bepotenten in the Amansie Central District of the Ashanti Region.
Upon their arrest, the four Chinese nationals told the arresting officers that they were sent to mine at the site by Aisha Huang, and that their passports were with her in Kumasi.
The arresting officers sent the four persons, first to the Obuasi office of the GIS, and subsequently to the Kumasi office.
Aisha Huang, upon receiving the information about the arrest of her alleged Chinese employees, proceeded to the Regional Immigration office in Kumasi, even before the arresting officers reached the Ashanti Regional capital.
After a while, Aisha left, upon realising that the suspects were yet to be brought to the GIS Kumasi office, but was later called back to report with the alleged miners’ passports.
With great difficulty, En Huang eventually produced the passports of only Haibin Gao and Zhang Zhupeng.
The visas of these two arrested persons showed that they came to Ghana on B-1 visas (business visas), which did not qualify them to be engaged in any type of work in the country.
They were, however, engaged by En Huang to undertake mining operations without the requisite licences at Bepotenten.
Investigations disclosed that En Huang took possession of several farmlands for mining, and eventually destroyed crops, sources of drinking water, and access routes to these farms, as well as the livelihoods depending on these for survival.
Aisha was earlier arraigned before the Accra High Court on related charges of illegally undertaking a small-scale mining operation contrary to section 99 of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006, Act 703, and illegal employment of foreign nationals contrary to sections 24 and 52 (1) (d) of the Immigration Act, 2000, Act 573.
However, on December 19, 2018, the Attorney-General entered nolle prosequi and terminated the trial, and on the same day, the Comptroller-General of the Ghana Immigration Service revoked her permit to remain in the country indefinitely, ordered her immediate repatriation to China, and directed her to stay out of Ghana until the Comptroller-General approved of her future re-entry into Ghana.
Furthermore, Aisha was put on an Ethiopian Airline flight No Et920, which took off at about 12:50 pm on December 17, 2018, to Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia, en route to Guangzhou, China.
The court was told that her flight seat No 32 F (Economy Class) and her travel documents were handed over to the Captain of the flight to be handed over to her upon arrival at her final destination, Guangzhou, China.
But contrary to the directive issued by the Comptroller-General under section 20 (2) in the Immigration Act, 2000, Act 573, State Security agents received the information that she had re-entered Ghana and was subsequently arrested on September 2, 2022 in Kumasi.
The court was further informed that this re-entry was in total defiance of the clear order of the Comptroller-General of 19 December, 2018.
Upon her arrest, En Huang had in her possession two Chinese passports, one in the name of En Huang and the other in the name of Huan Ruixia, both of which had her photographs.
