A man who spent 29 years in jail on a suspended death sentence for a triple murder he did not commit was awarded a GBP 880,000 compensation for wrongful imprisonment.
Farmer Tan Xiuyo, from Shangshui County, Henan Province, China, was imprisoned after being wrongly declared guilty of killing his neighbours.
A court found that Tan, 68, had slaughtered a mother, father and daughter to cover up a horrific rape.
But the state will now have to make a massive payout after a new hearing found his conviction was wrong.
From his criminal detention by the police on 21st July 1993 to his release on 20th October 2022, he spent a total of 29 years behind bars.
Two months after serving his sentence and being released, Tan was acquitted by the Henan High Court.
He had the dubious honour of becoming the wronged person who had been detained for the longest time in China.
He had sued the court for more than CNY 17.49 million (GBP 2.1 million) in compensation for infringing personal freedom and mental damage.
The Henan High Court accepted the case but awarded him far less than the millions he requested, setting the compensation amount at approximately CNY 7.8 million (GBP 881,000).
The sum includes a CNY 4.3 million (GBP 489,549) compensation for deprivation of personal freedom and another CNY 3.4 (GBP 391,640) for mental distress.
The person in charge of the compensation committee reportedly bowed down and apologised to Tan, expressing hope that he can quickly move out of the shadow of the past and plan for a normal future life and work.
Tan previously said that although no amount of money can replace 29 years of life, he deserved some sort of compensation for all the suffering he and his family had endured.
His mother and son died while he was in jail, and his two daughters were forced to suspend their studies and get jobs to support themselves.
This has caused serious mental disorders and irreversible damage, according to Li Xun, Tan’s legal representative.
Tan, who has spent almost half his life in prison, had maintained his innocence throughout his sentence.
A turning point came when his case was re-examined in June 2020, and it was found the evidence was insufficient and inaccurate.
Finally, in October of 2022, after spending nearly 30 years in jail, he was proven not guilty and released.
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Story By: Simona Kitanovska, Sub-Editor: Michael Leidig, Agency: Asia Wire Report
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