The only legally recognised Director and Secretary of Big Stone Mining company who has been center of unwarranted media attacks in recent times, seem to have had it to the neck as she has caused her Lawyers to demand unqualified apology and retraction from Ghana’s most circulated private newspaper, Daily Guide.
Daily Guide is owned by seasoned Lawyer and NPP former National Chairman, Freddie Blay.
She is also demanding a cessation of “defamatory publications and innuendos” against her person.
Published below is the letter from her lawyers signed by Sampson Obeng ESQ dated 13th September, 2022:
DEMAND FOR RETRACTION, APOLOGY AND CESSATION OF DEFAMATORY PUBLICATIONS AND INNUENDOES CONCERNING WAN SHANHONG
We are writing to you as the lawyers of Wan Shanhong and Liu Yang (our clients). Our clients, particularly Wan Shanhong has referred to us two publications about her which your newspaper has published on 8th September, 2022 (page 6) and on 12th September, 2022(page 6)
Our client is of the view, which we strongly share, that these publications are very malicious, defamatory, and calculated to soil the name and reputation of our client.
We have noticed that you( the Editor) and your newspaper commenced your libel against our clients on both occasions by splashing her photograph on your front cover page side by side with the photograph of Aisha Huang, another Chinese lady who is very much in the news lately as an alleged “galamsey queenpin” and illegal immigrant.
Having cemented these innuendoes in the mind of your readers and the general public, that our client is of the same character as Aisha Huang you then proceeded on both occasions to accuse our client falsely in both write-ups as a thief who has stolen another person’s company and properties and as a brigand who has taken over another person’s company forcibly and unlawfully using unlawful contacts with political powers.
There is no doubt that you made all these publications knowing fully well that there is no iota of truth in your allegations.
This is due to the fact that you are very much aware that Lawyer Freddie Blay, who is closely connected with your newspaper has acted as the lawyer of the Company in dispute (Big Stone Mining Company Ltd) where our client was and still is a Director and the Company Secretary.
Also, Mr. Freddie Blay’s Law Firm (Blay and Associates) is even now the law firm representing the other Chinese and persons who are in court with our client and her Chinese business associate over the ownership of the shares of the said company and the attempt by these clients of Blay and Associates to take over the said company using forged signatures, forged documents and a false Statutory Declaration.
Indeed, Mr. Freddie Blay would have informed you if you cared for the truth that our client had even contacted him and he had promised to resolve the matter amicably and our client only went to court when Mr. Blay failed to do so.
Secondly, the dispute over this company is a matter which our client has and her Chinese associate have taken to court and the case is still pending before the commercial division of the High Court, Accra.
Both parties have filed copious documents and information in court which would have provided you with the facts of the case if you were interested in the truth and maintenance of fair and proper journalistic practices, instead of focusing on libelling our client.
The fact that our client’s opponent have access to your newspaper through Lawyer Freddie Blay and his Law firm should not motivate you and your newspaper to dump proper journalistic standards of fairness, truth and justice by seeking to a public lynching of our client.
Since you and your newspaper is not ready to undertake the labour of seeking the truth before rushing into publication, our client has instructed us to draw your attention to the following fact:
These publications relate to the Gold (tailings) processing site/plant at Bogoso which is owned and operated by Bigstone Mining Ltd, a company registered in Ghana.
We also believe that you know from public records filed at the Registrar-General’s Department that Big Stone Mining Ltd has only three (3) directors including our client, who is also the company secretary. This is reflected in the original documents of incorporation at the Registrar General’s Department (RGD).
This company was formed and registered by two Chinese gentlemen, Liu Yang who is also our client and Song Jiangdong. These two gentlemen own 50% each of the shareholders of the company and both are the founding Directors of the company. Our client, Wan Shanhong was later on appointed as the Company Secretary in addition to being one of the founding directors of the Company.
We know this publication has arisen from the case of Wan Shanhong & 1 Other vrs Bigstone Mining Ltd & ors in Suit No. CM/MIsc/0367/2022 which our clients initiated against some persons who have at all material times been represented by Blay & Associates and which case our client was granted an order of Interlocutory Injunction.
We also like to repeat as stated above that even before the commencement of the suit, our client approached Lawyer Freddie Blay, whose law firm was the lawyer for the company and had acted for both the company and our client in the past, to brief him about the facts which had led to the court action and Mr. Freddie Blay promised to use his good offices to resolve the problem. It was when Lawyer Blay failed so to do, that our client had no choice but to go to court for some of the following reliefs:
Their opponents had forged their signatures unto documents to the effect that our clients (including Liu Yang) had resigned from their positions as Directors and Company Secretary of the company.
In addition, another forged document was to the effect that our client Liu Yang had transferred his 50% shares to Jiangdong Song who is being represented by Blay & Associates.
Finally, another fake Statutory Declaration was used to appoint one Yi Liu as a director and company secretary.
All these changes which were found by the High Court in its 15th July, 2022 decision to have been based on forged documents and forged signatures.
These forged documents and forged signatures had earlier been presented to the Registrar-Generals Department by the opponents of our clients which enabled the names of our clients to be removed as the Directors, shareholder and Company Secretary of Big Stone Mining Ltd.
These forged documents and signatures also enabled our client’s opponents to appropriate the 50% shares of Liu Yang in the company without his knowledge or consent and further appoint Yi Liu as a director of the company without any valid resolution of the Company.
As we have stated above, all these facts are contained in documents filed on behalf of our clients in the suit which is still pending at the Commercial Division of the High Court, Accra. If you had bothered to contact our clients as part of proper journalistic standards and cross checked your facts from Blay & Associates who are representing the other side, you would have become fully aware and not rushed to print the various falsehoods about our client.
In your blind defence of our clients opponents, you have glossed over the fact that our clients were put in charge of the Bogoso processing plant lawfully per a court order dated 15th July, 2022 issued by the High Court (Commercial Division). This order of Interlocutory Injunction was granted by the court to restore the parties to their status quo ante pending the final determination of the case. A copy of the said injunction order showing the reliefs granted by the court is attached.
Our clients obtained another court order for the police to assist them in serving and executing this interlocutory injunction order on the parties represented by Blay & Associates who had taken over the gold processing plant unlawfully using fake documents. The court in granting the order for police protection was well aware of the violence that was unleashed on officials of the court when they had attempted to serve a previous order of the court (interim injunction order) on those operating the plant unlawfully.
Instead of publishing the true facts of the case, you have chosen to deliberately twist the truth (for reasons best known to yourself) and make false allegations against our clients in order to force the police to withdraw the protection it had afforded our clients based on the court order with the sole purpose of enabling Blay’s clients (whom the court had expressly forbidden from operating the plant) to return to the plant to carry on with their illegal activities.
We also repeat our position that the innuendo contained in your two publications whereby the photograph of our client (Wan Shanhong) was splashed on the front page of your newspaper together with the photograph of Aisha Huang, who is alleged to be a notorious ‘galamsey queenpin’ and illegal immigrant to Ghana who is very much in the news has not been lost on us and on right thinking members of the community.
Your newspaper knows very well that our clients are not criminals but Chinese investors who found these business opportunities and brought their Chinese colleagues to partner with them to form Bigstone Mining Ltd to exploit this business opportunity. In the circumstances, your attempt to tarnish the image of our clients and accuse them of being criminals is totally unacceptable.
Secondly, your publication is just a media war to divert the attention of the public from the fact that the clients represented by Blay & Associates have admitted in papers filed before the court that they were the ones who forged the signatures of our clients on the documents that were used to remove them from Bigstone Mining Ltd unlawfully .
We must also warn you that your publications are very prejudicial and calculated to interfere in the court case between our clients and their opponents which is still pending before the High Court (Commercial Division) Accra.
In the circumstances we have been instructed by our clients to demand and we do demand the following:
That you cease immediately and forthwith these false publications about our clients
That you publish an unreserved apology to our clients in respect of your two publications
That you retract wholly these publications you have made about our clients particularly Wan Shanhong
That you apologise for the innuendo contained in your deliberate publication of Wan Shanhong on the front pages of your newspapers on the two occasions in the way and manner complained above.
Please take further notice that if these publications do not cease forthwith and the apology and retraction is not received within 3 days from the date hereof, our clients shall proceed to court against you to seek redress and very punitive damages against you the Editor personally and your newspaper.
Be accordingly advised.
Yours sincerely,
SAMPSON OBENG, ESQ.
Cc:
Client
National Media Commission
The Print and the Electronic Press
