Family of 18-year-old wrongfully executed for murder in China awarded 2 million yuan

The family of a man wrongly executed for a rape and murder in Inner Mongolia in northern China has been awarded 2.05 million yuan (HK$2.58 million) in compensation.

The Higher People’s Court of Inner Mongolia announced the award in a statement on its social media account on Wednesday.

Huugjilt was executed in 1996 for the rape and murder of a woman in Hohhot. He was 18.

The court in Mongolia ruled earlier in December that he had been wrongly convicted.

The statement said that his family would be paid more than 1.04 million yuan for the death and funeral fees, 1 million yuan for "emotional damages" and 12,041 yuan in compensation for their son’s loss of personal freedom in the 60 days of his detention before his execution.

The court said the parents had been awarded a high amount for emotional damages because of the death of their son, but had not been given compensation for living expenses as both had pensions.

Huugjilt’s father, Li Sanren, said the compensation was "all right", adding that he and his wife "respect the decision of the law and the state".