State pays man wrongfully convicted 2.62 million yuan

Wu Chunhong, a villager from Henan province who had his name cleared in April after evidence related to his intentional homicide conviction was deemed insufficient, received state compensation of more than 2.62 million yuan ($377,000), Wu's lawyer and daughter told media on Aug 6.

The compensation includes 1.9 million yuan for Wu's wrongful detention and 680,000 yuan for his mental anguish, according to a decision made by the Henan High People's Court and released by Wu's daughter Wu Lili.

On April 1, more than 15 years after Wu was wrongly convicted, the court found the 50-year-old man not guilty, overturning the original verdict in which he was sentenced to life in prison for intentional homicide, as the chain of evidence in his case was not sufficient to support his conviction.

After the acquittal, Wu applied for more than 18.7 million yuan in compensation to the high court.

On Aug 6, Li Changqing, Wu's lawyer, said Wu's family is not satisfied with the final payment, and he is planning to apply for reconsideration to the Supreme People's Court.

"I am unhappy with the final payment to my client. It's much lower than expected," Li said. "He was wrongly detained for over 15 years. Those would have been the best years of his life."

Wu developed a medical problem with his eyes and skin after the release and needs money for treatment, Li added. Wu also demanded money to support his life as he adapts to society.

In most state compensation cases, the amount offered for mental anguish is not high because it's difficult to estimate, he said, but he suggested that the country increase the standard as soon as possible by revising relevant regulations.

Wu's case dates back to Nov 15, 2004, when a 3-year-old boy in Zhougang village, Shangqiu, Henan, died after eating homemade food containing poisoned flour. His elder brother fell ill and was admitted to hospital but recovered.

A week later, Wu, who lived in the same village, was identified as the suspect in the child's death and was detained.

In June 2005, Wu was given a suspended death sentence for intentional homicide by the Shangqiu Intermediate People's Court, but the high court ordered a retrial after Wu appealed.

Over the next three years, the intermediate court handed down the same sentence to Wu twice, but the high court rejected both results and sent the case back to the lower court each time.

In 2008, Wu was sentenced to life in prison, with the high court upholding that verdict.

The Supreme People's Court, China's top court, reviewed the case in 2018 after frequent appeals from Wu's family and ordered the high court to retry the case. The case was reheard in 2019.

Other men who were wrongfully convicted in intentional homicide cases have received state compensation in recent years.

Jin Zhehong, who spent 23 years in prison after being wrongly detained for intentional homicide, received 4.68 million yuan in compensation in 2019.

In 2018, Liao Haijun, who was wrongly convicted of intentional homicide and detained for 15 years in prison, got about 3.4 million yuan in compensation.