Suspected killer goes on trial in wrongful execution case

A man who confessed to murdering a woman in China 18 years ago went on trial yesterday, three weeks after a court declared that a teenager executed for the crime was innocent.

The Intermediate People’s Court in Hohhot, capital of north China’s Inner Mongolia region, opened proceedings against Zhao Zhihong, 43, and is expected to announce a verdict this week, the court said on its official microblog.

Doubts were cast on the original verdict in the 1996 case when Zhao was arrested in 2005. He admitted to a number of rapes and murders, including the one that had sent Huugjilt, just 18 years old at the time, to his death.

Under police interrogation, Zhao admitted to 10 murders, but prosecutors just mentioned nine at his trial in November 2006.

Zhao’s insistence that he was guilty of a 10th alerted the central government and the regional higher court suspended proceedings. Zhao has been in detention awaiting trial since then.

His confession triggered a review of Huugjilt’s case and, on December 15 last year, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Regional Higher People’s Court overturned the original verdict.

Huugjilt was interrogated for 48 hours after a woman was found raped and choked to death in the toilet of a Hohhot textile factory, after which he confessed to the crime. He was convicted, sentenced and executed 61 days after the woman was found.

Yesterday, Zhao again insisted on his responsibility for the murder, his lawyer told the Legal Evening News. It was one of 18 cases of rape and murder heard by the court in camera yesterday to protect victims’ privacy.

Zhao also faced a number of theft charges.

In an interview with China Central Television in November 2005, Zhao said: “I am not me but another man when I commit crimes. At that time, I am as grim as devil.”

The Inner Mongolia People’s Procuratorate is investigating police conduct at the time of the 1996 case. Feng Zhiming, the officer in charge, was later promoted for handling the case in a timely manner.

Huugjilt’s parents, who campaigned to have him cleared, are to receive more than 2 million yuan (US$330,000) in state compensation.