Innocence announced 18 years after man executed for rape, murder

Li Sanren (2nd R) and Shang Aiyun (2nd L), parents of Huugjilt who was executed in a controversial 1996 rape and murder case, mourn their son in front of his grave in Hohhot, capital of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Dec. 15, 2014.

A man sentenced to death and executed in a controversial 1996 rape and murder case was acquitted of his crimes 18 years later in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Monday.

Huugjilt, who was 18 at the time of his conviction and execution, had his innocence officially announced by Zhao Jianping, deputy chief judge of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Regional Higher People's Court, who also apologized to his parents.

Huugjilt was found guilty of raping and murdering a woman in a public toilet in Hohhot on April 9, 1996. He was sentenced to death and executed in June 1996.

Zhao bowed low to the tearful couple as he handed the court order over to them

Shang Aiyun, 62, mother of the dead Huugjilt, said she would copy the court paper, and burn the print in front of her son's grave to "comfort his spirit that has been suffering from the pain of a wrongful charge."

The couple, unwavering in their belief in their son's innocence, have been petitioning to the country's supreme court and the region's higher court since 2006.

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Yan Feng, a friend and colleague of Huugjilt, tells how they heard someone cry out in a women's toilet as they passed by. Huugjilt asked Yan to go with him into the toilet to see what had happened. There they saw a woman's body and immediately ran out. Huugjilt then reported it to police despite Yan's attempts to persuade him to keep quiet.

A month later, Huugjilt was sentenced to death by the Hohhot Intermediate People's Court. His appeal was rejected, the death penalty was approved by the region's higher court and Huugjilt was executed on June 10, 1996.

It only took 61 days from the case to be reported to the man's execution. This happened amid China's sweeping national campaign to strike hard against criminal activities, when public security, procuratorial organs and courts were encouraged to take swift and severe measures in dealing with criminal cases.

Official figures suggested in the year 1995 alone, public security departments nationwide handled 1.5 million criminal cases, many involving illegal use of guns, drug and organized crime.