CCTV9英语新闻：Changes underway for China's judicial system

Changes are underway for China's judicial system, as the country enhances the rule of law.

 

After being imprisoned for 23 years, Chen Man, now 53 years old, was acquitted due to unclear facts and insufficient evidence in February. He was accused of killing the owner of his apartment in southern Haikou city, over rent dispute and set the owner's body on fire. But the prosecution process was unjustified, according to his lawyer.

 

"I asked the policeman, "can you provide any evidence?" , they said, "A kitchen knife". I asked, "where is it?" They said, "We lost it, we can't show it because that the sanitary workers had thrown it away." I was confused for how can they define lethal weapon as an evidence without showing it," Chen Man's lawyer Cao Zheng said.

 

Chen Man admitted to the murder and arson under police interrogation, but denied the crime in the court.

 

That's why he showed contradiction in the testimony.

 

"I pointed out 7 contradictions in his testimony and ten more between Chen's testimony and other evidence. Prosecutor had nothing to say to this," Cao said.

 

But that didn't help Chen Man. The Haikou Intermediate People's Court sentenced Chen to a suspended death sentence in 1994, and the provincial high people's court upheld the verdict in April 1999.

 

For two decades, Chen served his false sentence in prison until February 2014, when he appealed to the Supreme Court.

 

The court set him free, and gave him 5 thousand yuan as "compensation money". He is also eligible to apply for further compensation from the state.

 

Chen was not alone. 

 

30-year-old Qian Renfeng was sentenced to life imprisonment 13 years ago, after being wrongfully convicted of poisoning children.

 

She said "When I was interrogated, the police made me kneel for several hours to answer questions. I couldn't bear it, so I pleaded guilty."

 

Such cases are believed to get fewer, after the regulations to prevent coercion and torture have been strengthened since 2012.

 

And that's one of many efforts the country made in the pursuit of a better judicial system.