The Sekondi High Court in the Western Region has sentenced four defendants, two of whom are Chinese, to 15 years of hard labor in prison.
Chen Hung @Labania, Chen Zhili, Stephen Arthur, and Prince Denis Aidoo were charged with violating parts of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703) as modified by buying and selling minerals in the nation without a license.
This came after the court, presided over by Justice Richmond Osei-Hwere, reversed a previous ruling by a Tarkwa Circuit Court, which had found the four people guilty and ordered them to just pay penalties.
The High Court determined the Circuit Court's ruling in the case involving the four to be erroneous and granted the state's plea for certiorari to have the judgement annulled.
Justice Osei-Hwere found that the Circuit Court made a clear error of law on the face of the record when it sentenced the four to just pay a fine rather than the right punishments of incarceration and a fine as provided by section 99 (I)(a) of Act 703 on the face of the case.
Warrant of arrest
The trial court also issued an arrest warrant for the prisoners, who had all fled the country following the Circuit Court's decision, so that they could fulfill their sentences.
Chen Zhili is the only one who has been arrested and is presently incarcerated.
Charges
Three counts of conspiracy to conduct crime, two counts of abetment of crime, buying minerals without a license, selling minerals without a license, and money laundering were among the charges brought against the defendants.
In its ruling, the Circuit Court ordered Hung, Zhili, and Aidoo to pay GH144,000 apiece or serve 15 years in prison, while Arthur was ordered to pay GH120,000 or serve 10 years in prison. The prisoners, however, will pay the penalties and serve the prison sentences ordered by the court, thanks to a recent High Court judgement.
Certiorari
Patience A. Klinogo, the Chief State Attorney who filed the certiorari petition, stated that the Circuit Court should have imposed a term of imprisonment in addition to the penalties in six of the offenses.
During the hearing, Ms Klinogo requested permission to proceed with the application in the absence of the prisoners, which was granted because they had all fled the country and efforts to serve them at their known address had been unsuccessful.
She claimed that the Circuit Court did not impose the appropriate sentence for the crime committed by the prisoners.
She stated that it was critical for the court to have imposed the sentence in accordance with the statute's requirements, and that "a court can only utilize its sentencing discretion within the boundaries of the sentencing regime relevant to a specific offence."
Any effort to depart from the sentence guidelines, she said, would be a nullity since it would be a clear mistake of law on the face of the case.
Arguments for prisoner Zhili's lawyers
On the basis that the prosecution used an unknown technique under the Criminal Procedure Act to obtain jail terms, Zhili's attorneys moved to halt the commitment of the warrant issued by Justice Osei-Hwere.
The attorneys contended that Zhili was unaware of any procedures filed by the state, and that the state merely claimed it couldn't find the prisoners, so it filed an affidavit of non-service rather than substituted service to have them served in another way.
Justice Osei-Hwere, who stated that he was pleased with the prosecution's case, which resulted in the jail terms, recommended the attorneys to apply a copy of his decision and address any objections in a legal venue.