Court official pays visit to family's home to apologize for 1996 mistake

A court in northern China cleared a man on Monday of the rape and murder of a woman in a public toilet 18 years after he was executed for the crimes.

Inner Mongolia High People's Court overturned the conviction of Hugjiltu, who was 18 when he was sentenced to death and executed for the crimes.

Zhao Jianping, vice-president of the court, arrived at Hugjiltu's home with a retrial judgment at 8:30 am on Monday, apologizing for the mistake and announcing that the executed man was innocent.

Giving 30,000 yuan ($4,500) to the family, Zhao promised them that further compensation will be provided.

Shang Aiyun, Hugjiltu's mother, wept and hugged her husband, saying the judgment is the culmination of her efforts to appeal over the past decade.

Miao Li, a lawyer representing the family, said an application will be made for state compensation as soon as possible, but added that an exact figure cannot be confirmed at present.

Hugjiltu, a member of the Mongolian ethnic group, was convicted of raping and fatally choking a woman in a toilet at a textile factory in Hohhot, capital of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, on April 9, 1996. He was executed 61 days later.

But the case triggered controversy when Zhao Zhihong confessed to the murder after he was arrested in 2005. The high people's court decided to retry the case on Nov 20.

Court spokesman Li Shengchen said at a news conference on Monday that there were unclear facts and insufficient evidence in the initial verdict that convicted Hugjiltu of homicide.

But whether Zhao committed the murder will depend on investigations into his case, Li said.

He added that the local government has set up a group to find out where the mistake was made and where to apportion blame.

"Problematical judicial officers must be called to account, and we'll disclose related information quickly," he said.

The local public security authority confirmed that an investigation is underway and said it will target all police officers involved in the case.

Wang Minyuan, a law researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, spoke highly of the acquittal and hoped that every legal officer can learn a lesson from the case.

Yi Shenghua, a criminal lawyer in Beijing, said Hugjiltu's case must serve as a warning to all judicial officers. He called on them not to jump to conclusions when facts are not clear and the evidence is not strong.

Cheng Lei, an associate law professor at Renmin University of China, said that under a reform plan, every step in hearing a case must be recorded.

On Friday, in a separate case, the Supreme People's Court assigned Shandong Provincial People's High Court to review a controversial case that happened nearly 20 years ago in Hebei province to determine if it should be reopened.

In 1995, Nie Shubin, 21, was executed for the rape and murder of a woman in Shijiazhuang the year before. But 10 years later, Wang Shujin, 46, confessed to several rapes and murders, including the crimes for which Nie was convicted.

Contact the writer at caoyin@chinadaily.com.cn