The wedding photo of Huang Jiaguang. (Photo/Hinews.cn)

The wedding photo of Huang Jiaguang. (Photo/Hinews.cn)

Huang Jiaguang, who was imprisoned for 17 years due to an unjust verdict, got married in Haikou, Hainan province on Oct. 24, the hinews.cn reported.

In 1994, 22-year-old Huang was working in Hainan’s Chengmai County. On July 7 of that year, he returned to his hometown in Qiongshan County because he heard that Huang Hengyong, a local gangster in a neighboring village, had been killed in a gang fight.

“My father saw me and said, ‘The young people have all gone--why do you come back?’” Huang recalled. However, since he didn’t think the incident had anything to do with him, he didn’t give it much thought. But when people reported him to the police, accusing him of the murder, the police listed him as a suspect.

In the following three years, Huang was arrested three times. In 1998, after he was arrested for the third time, Huang said he could no longer stand the torture and simply chose to confess to the crime.

“The police gave me several blank papers and asked me to sign my name. Later, they wrote a confession on the papers and asked me to put my fingerprints on them,” Huang recalled. He was sent to prison soon after.

During his stay in prison, Huang’s family never gave up on appealing his case. In 2014, the case got a retrial and Huang was finally declared innocent. He received a compensation of over 1.6 million RMB. At that time, he was 42.

“I am very grateful to my lawyer,” Huang told a reporter after hearing the verdict.

Huang tried to recover his lost youth. With the compensation, he bought several pieces of gold jewelry. Soon, he found a girlfriend and built a new house. 

“I can forgive other people, but the ones who created the unjust case in the first place should be punished,” Huang said. “Only when I see those people being held accountable will I truly be able to move on.” 

Huang Jiaguang in happy tears after hearing that the court would acquit him on Sept.29, 2014. (Photo/Hinews.cn)