I don’t know how to drive, let alone operate an excavator – Aisha Huang

The infamous Chinese national En Huang, also known as Ashia Huang, has said she does not know how to drive, let alone operate an excavator.

This is according to a newspaper report by the Chronicle dated July 11, 2023.

Aisha Huang told the Accra High Court in a witness statement on July 10, 2023, that it is not true that she and her company were engaged in mining or providing mining support services.

Her statement was read in English and later translated into Mandarin, her language of understanding.

In the court presided over by Justice Lydia Osei Marfo, she [Aisha Huang] dismissed the evidence presented, describing it as a calculated attempt by the witnesses to adhere to narratives in the media by the same individuals.

Aisha Huang further clarified that her primary business venture was a supermarket named Aisha Supermarket, situated in Ahodwo, Kumasi, catering primarily to a Chinese clientele from 2013 to 2018.

She also stated that she has no connection to the four Chinese nationals who were arrested at Bepotenten in the Ashanti Region; Gao Jin Cheng, Lu Qi Jun, Haibi Gao, and Zhang Zhipeng, claiming that they were neither her employees nor acting on her orders.

She further emphasized that the excavators and the mining site on which they were arrested did not belong to her or her company.

According to Aisha Huang, she simply became aware of their arrest due to their shared nationality and had followed up on the matter out of concern.

She clarified that the passports she held for Haibin Gao and Zhan Zhipeng were solely for her assistance in renewing their stay in the country, as their visas had expired.

She asserted that she did not possess or retain the passports of Gao Jin Cheng and Lu Qi Jun.

"The passports I kept for Haibin Gao and Zhan Zhipeng were only to assist them at the Regional Immigration Office with the renewal of their stay in the country, which had expired at the time. I did not have or kept the passports of Gao Jin Cheng and Lu Qi Jun."

The accused further pointed out that due to her long stay in the region, she has become a point of reference for the Chinese nationals who visited Kumasi and its surroundings, given their limited ability to speak English or Twi.

She claimed that this may have led the four Chinese nationals to encounter her.

Aisha added that when she learned of their arrest, she went to the Regional Immigration Office to confirm the situation and get help, but upon finding out that the arrest team had not arrived, she left her contact information with the office and asked them to inform her when the team arrived.

The accused, En Huang, thus vehemently denied any involvement with the mining sites depicted in the videos, pictures, and maps presented by the prosecution witnesses.

Consequently, Huang requested that the court acquit and discharge her, asserting the lack of truth in the facts presented.

The case has been adjourned until July 17, 2022.

NW/OGB

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