CHINA COMPENSATES MAN FOR WRONGFUL CONVICTION

It takes a lot to convince the Chinese authorities that they got it wrong but this case was unusually compelling

A Chinese man who spent 11 years in prison for a murder that didn't happen has received 460,000 yuan (US$57,000) in compensation, a government newspaper said Friday. She Xianglin was convicted of killing his wife, who disappeared in 1994. He was released April 1 after she reappeared and said she had left their home in the central province of Hubei to marry another man.

She's case prompted rare discussion in China's state press of police misconduct after he said he was tortured into confessing. An officer who She said took part in the torture hanged himself in May after authorities launched an investigation. She -- pronounced "Shuh" -- received his compensation Wednesday from the local government in Jingshan County in Hubei, the newspaper China Daily said. "She choked back tears as he expressed relief that the day he finally got compensation finally came," the China Daily said.

The newspaper said She was accompanied by his daughter, who grew up while he was in prison. The compensation represented a payment for each of the 4,009 days that She spent in prison, plus 200,000 yuan (US$24,600) for his lost earnings during that period, the China Daily said. Chinese law sets compensation at 64 yuan (US$7.90) per day of improper confinement, the report said. "He also did not get any compensation for the beating he suffered and policemen involved in the case have not apologized to him so far," the China Daily said.

According to earlier news reports, She said he signed a confession that he hadn't read after police deprived him of sleep and interrogated him almost continuously for 10 days. China's justice system relies heavily on confessions and poorly trained police often are accused of resorting to torture under pressure to crack cases. Human rights groups report numerous cases each year in which they say prisoners are tortured to death. Police usually tell relatives prisoners died of natural causes or committed suicide.

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