The Asante Bekwai Circuit Court has granted GH¢300, 000 bail with three sureties each to 12 Chinese accused of illegal mining, also known as ‘Galamsey’.
The suspects are Hin Ming Ji, Ling Win Hong, Hong Ling Ja, Lu Kang Min, Qin Qinghai, Qin Huang, Wing Hing, Lu Tia Hu, Chang Hong Te, Chin Yang Hong, Win Shin Weng and Huan Bong Tao.
The court presided over by Mr Mark Tair-imaDiboro ordered that one of the three sureties each should be justified with landed property and that all the sureties should be Ghanaians living within the jurisdiction of the Court.
The accused were ordered to deposit their passports with the court’s registry and the registrar should check with the Immigration Service if the travel documents were genuine.
The court asked the Registrar to liaise with the Regional Judicial Service to get an interpreter for the accused to facilitate the trial.
The prosecution did not mention the facts of the case to the court, and the case was adjourned to May 10, 2023.
The information available to the Ghana News Agency indicated that the suspects were arrested over alleged illegal mining at Obuasi, Ashanti Region.
Mr Bright Gyamfi, defence counsel for the first two suspects, in praying for bail, said though
Chinese, they had fixed places of abode in Kumasi, running their businesses with recognised locations.
He said that they would not interfere with investigations,would appear to stand for trial and had people of substance to stand as sureties for them.
Mr Gyamfisaid though suspects were foreigners, they were entitled to fundamental human rights,and that his clients were not arrested where the said crime was said to have been committed.
Mr Kofi BoyeAteng, the lawyer for the rest of the suspects, told the court that his clients had fixed places of abode and workplaces, and were victims of circumstances.
The court in granting bail considered the lawyers’ submission in addition to the fact that the prosecution did not oppose the bail.
