Court rejects torturers' appeal
The Guangdong Provincial Supreme Court has rejected appeals from two police officers in Huazhou , one jailed for life and the other for two years, for obtaining a confession by torture, Xinhua reported yesterday.
It said nearly 40 other officers at Huazhou police bureau also received internal punishment for providing fake evidence to help the two officers cover up the torture, which led to the death of their suspect.
Guangzhou People's Intermediate Court earlier sentenced Huang Weiguang to life imprisonment for causing suspect Wang Weiqing's death under torture and jailed Huang's colleague Li Hanyu for neglect of duty.
Both Huang and Li appealed to the provincial Supreme Court after receiving the verdict, but this was turned down by the provincial court recently in the face of strong evidence against the two.
Xinhua said Huang and Li used violence to force Wang, who was accused of swindling, to confess to the charge. Both former policemen were drunk during the interrogation, the report said. Li, who was the supervisor, left the room without authorisation and let his subordinate, Huang, use extreme violence on Wang until the latter lost consciousness. Wang died five days later in hospital.
Xinhua said Li and Huang asked 40 other police officers at their bureau to help them cover up. The police officers subsequently provided fake evidence to their superior and claimed Wang committed suicide.
Although prohibited by law, using torture is a commonplace problem on the mainland. After the practice caused widespread public resentment, authorities have promised to crack down on police who use it.
