A Criminal High Court in Accra has ordered the re-arrest of two Chinese – Goa Jin Chang 45, and Li Qi Jun, 39 – for failing to meet bail conditions.

The two were among four Chinese illegal miners initially granted bail by the court. The rest, however, met the bail terms.

Senior state attorney Mercy Arthur told the court that the prosecution had been informed that two of the accused persons did not submit their passports as directed by the court and wondered how they were released from the Nsawam Prison.

She said they were not able to amend their fact sheets and file as directed by the court because they were not done with their investigations and pleaded with the court to grant them more time.

Counsel for the accused Bernard Owiredu Donkor explained to court that the accused had misplaced their passports but were looking for it with the help of the police.

He said the passports got missing at Bepotenten in the Ashanti Region while they tried to escape arrest during a police swoop on their mining site. He also said they were putting in measures to get the two passports and would plead with the court to temper justice with mercy.

Accra News’ court reporter Ama Brako Ampofo said the judge, Justice Charles Edward Ekow-Baiden, who queried the defence counsel on how the two accused persons got out without meeting bail conditions, subsequently ordered for their re-arrest by police, demanding that they be detained at the Nsawam prison until they satisfy bail conditions.

He adjourned to 6th July.