The three Chinese nationals who were jailed by an Accra Circuit Court for transporting 10 Chinese girls into the country and engaging them in sex trade have appealed against the verdict. The three, James Xu Jin, the ringleader, Sam Shan Jin, his wife Chow Xiou Ying, his brother, in separate writs, were asking the court to overturn the judgment or reduce the sentence which they perceive to be harsh. The appeal was not heard Monday when they appeared before Justice Charles Quist at an Accra Fast Track High Court. Their lawyer, Kwablah Senanu, prayed to be given a long adjournment to consolidate all the writs and file one statement of case for the three prisoners, after which the state would also have time to respond adequately. The judge obliged and adjourned the case to January 10, 2011 with an order for Mr. Senanu to file the statement of case, which should be responded to by the state by December 22. The ring-leader was handed 17 years imprisonment in hard labour while the other two received l2 years each on charges of conspiracy, human trafficking and abetment of crime by Mrs. Elizabeth Ankomah, last year. Justice Ankomah, in her judgment, observed that the accused persons were culpable of the charges because the prosecution, led by ASP Mary Agbozo, was able to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the accused brought the 10 victims to Ghana to engage them in sex trade and not to work in a restaurant as the accused persons claimed. The court noted that James and his wife intentionality used deception and fraud to transport the victims to Ghana and under threat, forced them into sex slavery. The victims were made to believe that they would work as waitresses and cooks. This assertion was deduced from evidence by 8 out of the 10 victims who testified that their passports were seized immediately they arrived into the country to prevent them from running away, adding that they were then compelled to sleep with men against their will. According to facts available to the court, anytime a victim failed to sleep with a client, she was made to pay an amount of 50 dollars to James. Also, when Tin Tin, one of the victims said she wanted to go back to her parents, she was asked by James to work to pay for her travelling expenses to Ghana. The court said the accused person, knowing the girls came from poor homes and could therefore not pay for the cost incurred in bringing them to Ghana, took advantage of this and made them engage in sex trade, after which he collected the proceeds. Chow, the brother who claimed to be a cook in the restaurant, was found guilty because the court noted that he facilitated and promoted the crime. The court observed that he was the translator between the victims and their customers and the one who manned and opened the gate for the customers and sometimes collected proceeds for James. He also sent the victims to their clients in hotels or their homes. Chow collected 600 dollars as his monthly salary for these services. The court discovered that the accused persons had no restaurant and that the name James Garden Gordon Restaurant, which they used to deceive victims and authorities, only appeared on paper. The judge, who noted that the accused persons deceived the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), immigration and Registrar General Department to obtain resident permits, ordered that their permits be revoked. The judge also ordered that they should be deported immediately they finish serving their sentences. Their assets were also to be confiscated to the state and any money found on them be put into the human trafficking fund. Meanwhile, the victims have since been sent back to their country. Source: Daily Guide