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November 16, 2009

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Former death row duo awarded compensation

TWO wrongly condemned death row inmates have been granted state compensation after they were found not guilty of heroin trafficking on appeal and set free in July.

Mo Weiqi was paid 50,507.49 yuan (US$7,398.20) while Xie Kaiqi received 48,491.67 yuan, China Youth Daily reported yesterday.

The compensation was calculated based on last year's average daily income for domestic workers and the number of days Mo and Xie were in prison.

Mo had been jailed for 451 days and Xie had spent 433 days in a detention center.

Mo was convicted of carrying 1.027 kilograms of heroin on a flight to Kunming, capital of Yunnan Province.

He was sentenced to death by the intermediate court of Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture on September 17, 2008.

Appeal

Possessing more than 50 grams of heroin carries the death penalty in China.

Mo appealed to Yunnan Higher People's Court eight days after his conviction, insisting that he had no idea about the heroin in his luggage.

Trafficker Xiong Zhengjiang was later seized and confessed to police that Mo and Xie had no idea about the narcotics hidden in their luggage.

According to earlier media reports, Xiong promised Mo 100 yuan a day to deliver jade samples from Yunnan.

Mo and Xie followed Xiong from their hometown Xiangtan in Hunan Province.

The three arrived in Yunnan's Ruili City on April 16 last year. Mo and Xie were offered the "jade samples" and air tickets from Mangshi City to Kunming on April 23. The heroin was found when passing airport security checks.

The court of appeal found Mo and Xie not guilty on July 18 because they were cheated by Xiong, the report said.




 

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