State paid millions to redress legal error

A verdict granting State compensation of more than 2 million yuan ($322,000) is displayed on Dec 31 by the parents of Hugjiltu, an 18-year-old wrongly executed for rape and murder, in Hohhot, the capital of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.[Photo/Xinhua]

The central government paid almost 90 million yuan ($14.5 million) in compensation in one year to people convicted of crimes they were later proved not to have committed, according to recently released data.

Up to 825 individuals received such compensation in 2013, costing 87.35 million yuan, an amount roughly equal to the value of 248,000 barrels of oil.

The 2013 work report of the Supreme People's Court said courts heard 2,045 cases relating to State compensation for these and other cases where individuals were unduly harmed through government actions.

In 2012, 2,035 cases involved State compensation of about 50 million yuan, a Supreme People's Court official said.

Under current law, citizens can apply for State compensation when they are ruled to have been illegally detained, fined or jailed.

During last year's two sessions, the annual gatherings of the legislature and top political advisory bodies, top judge Zhou Qiang highlighted the need to fight wrongful convictions, asking courts to strictly abide by laws when making judgments and to hear cases independently.

"We must avoid wrongful cases and legally hold responsible those who make judicial mistakes, thus respecting and protecting human rights," Zhou said, requiring that each court exclude illegal evidence and prevent innocent people from being convicted.

Although the top court made the correction of wrongful convictions a top priority and made some achievements over the past two years, ensuring that judicial organs properly enforce laws and reduce mistakes remains difficult.

"Rooting out such problems will take judicial bodies much time, and also needs the public to increase its legal awareness," said Cheng Lei, an associate law professor at Renmin University of China.