<<Print>>

An Accra High Court has ordered the Attorney General’s Department to use state powers to produce sureties for Aisha Huang and three other Chinese nationals in court.

The Court said state officials who were charged with the responsibility of executing the accused persons bail must be called on to answer for non- traceable sureties.

Aisha Huang and three others are standing trial for allegedly engaging in illegal mining in the Ashanti Region.

The state had filed an application for forfeiture but the court was of the view that the sureties ought to be served with the forfeiture before that motion can be moved in the court.

Ms Mercy Arthur, a Senior State Attorney had informed the court that they were having challenges in serving the sureties.
According to her the sureties could not be traced by the addresses and phone numbers provided by them.

The court said it would be prudent for those charged with the responsibility of implementing bail to investigate the backgrounds of sureties before executing them.

It quizzed prosecution over the justification attached to the bail and passports of the accused.

Ms Arthur in response explained that the attorneys were not involved in the execution of bails.

Earlier, the court dismissed a motion for an order to remand the accused into Prison custody.
Meanwhile the Police are unable to trace the whereabouts of Gao Jin Cheng despite a bench warrant issued by the court. Cheng is said to have relocated to Tema and the Police did not have his Tema address.
The matter had been adjourned to June 21.