Chinese corn broker acquitted in retrial

HOHHOT - A farmer in northern China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region was acquitted in a retrial Friday, over his unlicensed corn purchasing business.

Bayan Nur City Intermediate People's Court revoked a previous verdict which had given Wang Lijun, a farmer, a suspended one-year prison sentence.

In the initial verdict in April last year, Linhe district court also fined Wang 20,000 yuan ($2,920).

The Supreme People's Court ordered a retrial in December.

Wang violated grain trading regulation as he had no license, but his act did not severely damage the market order, according to Bayan Nur City Intermediate People's Court.

Previously, China required licenses for grain purchase businesses. But a revised grain purchase rule in November cancelled the requirement for farmers and grain brokers, to provide a boost to the grain market.

"I feel relieved a lot," Wang said, after the innocent verdict. "I finally resume innocence. I will prepare new equipment for buying grain, for the convenience of local farmers and for improving the life of my family."

The court also told Wang that he could apply for state compensation for his economic losses due to the initial verdict.