Society

Man on retrial after 'real killer' emerges

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-06-05 01:53

NANNING: A man in south China, previously convicted of murder, remains behind bars more than three years after another man confessed to police that he was the "real killer."

Wang Zifa, a farmer in Donglan county of Hechi city, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, was convicted and sentenced to death for a murder during his first trial in November 2002, which Wang appealed, and received death with a reprieve following a second trial.

Related readings:  Accused true killers nabbed after wrong verdict  Lottery winner escapes father's murder plot?  China adjusts law system after torture scandal  Villager stabs 9 women and children, 2 dead

However, in February 2007 Tan Hanbao who was in jail over robbery confessed to police that he had committed the murder.

On Friday the Higher People's Court in Guangxi said Tan would stand trial on June 10 following a long and difficult period of collecting evidence.

The court noted that a confession alone does not automatically result in the identification of the true killer, as the court needs to review new evidence.

It noted that the court would later retry Wang to determine if he is, in fact, innocent.

Police in central Henan province, said Thursday they had arrested three in an infamous murder case, in which the victim was wrongly identified, and an innocent man wrongly jailed for 11 years.

Local police in Shangqiu city confirmed they had used DNA technology to identify the beheaded body as Gao Zongzhi not Zhao Zhenshang -- who turned up alive April 30 this year after he'd been missing since 1997.

Police arrested Zhao Zuohai after the dismembered body was found in 1999. Zhao was acquitted on May 9.

After being released, Zhao said he was forced to confess to murder after being beaten up and kept awake for more than 30 days during police interrogations.