China lauds solved murder rate, slams torture remarks
(Agencies)
Updated: 2006-05-16 15:14 Last year, China freed a man who spent 11 years in jail for allegedly
murdering his wife after the woman turned up alive. The man, She Xianglin, said
he had confessed to the crime under torture.
In another case, the children of a Chinese butcher executed for murdering a
waitress appealed against his conviction after his "victim" turned up alive.
He said such cases were very rare.
"Over the past few years we have taken measures against the practice of
forced confessions. Such cases are happening less and less now," he said.
"It is not a serious problem," He added.
China has in
the past recognised there was a problem, last year passing a bill mandating
punishment for police who torture detainees during interrogation.
He said interrogations were recorded and prosecutors operated independently
of police, asking detainees to sign papers saying they were not forced into
confessing crimes.
"Police chasing homicide cases must guarantee the quality of their work and
be impartial, enforcing the law and punishing criminals and certainly not
wronging innocent people," He said.
But he admited there was still a problem solving murders in certain areas,
mainly in the poor, rural northwest and western parts of the country, where
police could also not guarantee interrogations would be recorded.
"The country is very big, economic development uneven and police resources
are limited," he said.
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