Payout for no-corpse death case
By Wang Xiang |
May 14, 2010, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A FARMER in central China who, after torture, confessed to a murder he did not commit and spent 11 years in prison, yesterday received 650,000 yuan (US$95,183) in compensation for the gross miscarriage of justice.
The Higher People's Court of Henan Province awarded the amount to the man, who was released from jail last Saturday after his "victim" reappeared very much alive.
It was far less than the 1 million yuan Zhao Zuohai, 57, sought but he said he was happy with the decision, China News Service reported.
Apart from the compensation, the Laowangji township government will build a free new house for Zhao.
He said he now wanted to be reunited with his adopted adult children.
Some people in Henan believe the compensation is way too small considering Zhao's years of needless suffering.
"It's impossible to undo his misery or heal his trauma," Ren Xianguo, from the provincial capital of Zhengzhou, told Xinhua news agency.
Headless body
Ren said the compensation amount was "more of an apology" than a realistic figure.
In 1999, Zhao Zuohai was arrested after, Zhao Zhenshang, now 58, vanished following a fight. He was convicted of murder after a headless body believed to be that of Zhao Zhenshang's was found.
After his acquittal, Zhao Zuohai said he was forced into his confession by police officers who tortured him.
He said he was beaten up and forced to stay awake for more than 30 days.
"I felt then that it would be better to be dead than alive," he told the Beijing News.
He said the offending officers taught him what to say at his trial by rote.
Zhao Zuohai was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve. His sentence was commuted to 29 years for good behavior in prison.
Zhao Zhenshang, believed dead for 11 years, turned up as large as life this month.
Officers held
When Zhao Zuohai was in jail his wife remarried, two of his four children were adopted while the other two left home to become migrant workers. Their house, one of the most beautiful in the village 11 years ago, collapsed.
Zhao Zuohai said his blood son hated him, believing him to be a murderer.
Prosecutors in Henan have detained two police officers for allegedly torturing Zhao Zuohai into confession.
Three officers, Guo Shouhai, Zhou Minhan and Li Deling, allegedly participated in the torture sessions.
Guo and Zhou were in custody but Li was still at large, Xinhua said.
The current prosecutors said they did not know what to do about other officials involved in the case.
Prosecutors who pressed charges against Zhao left the procuratorate years ago.
The judges and police chiefs involved in the case have all since been promoted.
Last year the central government clamped down on inmate abuse and nearly 1,800 policemen were suspended.
China has also released guidelines that identify specific acts of torture for which police can be prosecuted.
The measures follow other cases involving people jailed after forced confessions.
The Higher People's Court of Henan Province awarded the amount to the man, who was released from jail last Saturday after his "victim" reappeared very much alive.
It was far less than the 1 million yuan Zhao Zuohai, 57, sought but he said he was happy with the decision, China News Service reported.
Apart from the compensation, the Laowangji township government will build a free new house for Zhao.
He said he now wanted to be reunited with his adopted adult children.
Some people in Henan believe the compensation is way too small considering Zhao's years of needless suffering.
"It's impossible to undo his misery or heal his trauma," Ren Xianguo, from the provincial capital of Zhengzhou, told Xinhua news agency.
Headless body
Ren said the compensation amount was "more of an apology" than a realistic figure.
In 1999, Zhao Zuohai was arrested after, Zhao Zhenshang, now 58, vanished following a fight. He was convicted of murder after a headless body believed to be that of Zhao Zhenshang's was found.
After his acquittal, Zhao Zuohai said he was forced into his confession by police officers who tortured him.
He said he was beaten up and forced to stay awake for more than 30 days.
"I felt then that it would be better to be dead than alive," he told the Beijing News.
He said the offending officers taught him what to say at his trial by rote.
Zhao Zuohai was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve. His sentence was commuted to 29 years for good behavior in prison.
Zhao Zhenshang, believed dead for 11 years, turned up as large as life this month.
Officers held
When Zhao Zuohai was in jail his wife remarried, two of his four children were adopted while the other two left home to become migrant workers. Their house, one of the most beautiful in the village 11 years ago, collapsed.
Zhao Zuohai said his blood son hated him, believing him to be a murderer.
Prosecutors in Henan have detained two police officers for allegedly torturing Zhao Zuohai into confession.
Three officers, Guo Shouhai, Zhou Minhan and Li Deling, allegedly participated in the torture sessions.
Guo and Zhou were in custody but Li was still at large, Xinhua said.
The current prosecutors said they did not know what to do about other officials involved in the case.
Prosecutors who pressed charges against Zhao left the procuratorate years ago.
The judges and police chiefs involved in the case have all since been promoted.
Last year the central government clamped down on inmate abuse and nearly 1,800 policemen were suspended.
China has also released guidelines that identify specific acts of torture for which police can be prosecuted.
The measures follow other cases involving people jailed after forced confessions.
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