FUZHOU, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- Fujian Higher People's Court on Tuesday overturned the convictions of five men for a murder case 14 years ago.
Miao Xinhua was sentenced to death by the Intermediate People's Court of Ningde City, Fujian, in August 2005 for murdering a woman, while another four received prison terms ranging from three to eight years for the crime of concealing the murder by helping Miao dismember the body and destroy evidence.
They had their convictions overturned as the higher court ruled that the previous convictions were based on insufficient evidence and unclear facts.
In April 2003, a woman was found murdered and her body parts were found in an abandoned house in Ningde City. Miao Xinhua, the woman's former boyfriend, was soon identified as a suspect and detained.
In April 2006, Fujian Higher People's Court upheld the verdict but gave Miao a two-year reprieve.
As Miao and other suspects continued appealing, the higher court re-heard the case in July 2017 and revoked the original verdict on Tuesday.
This is the latest wrongful murder verdict to be corrected as China works to improve judicial justice and transparency.
One high-profile case was that of an 18-year-old man named Huugjilt who was executed in 1996 for the rape and murder of a woman. He received a posthumous pardon in 2014 after a serial rapist and killer admitted to the crime.
