Policemen sentenced for forced confession

Five policemen were sentenced to prison for torturing an innocent man to confess to murder more than 10 years ago, in Central China's Henan province, Dahe Daily reported Friday.

Altogether six police officers were prosecuted by a court in Kaifeng city in 2011, after Zhao Zuohai, a farmer from a village in Shangqiu city, was released in 2010 after wrongly serving 10 years in prison. He was released when the victim he was alleged guilty of murdering re-appeared. Zhao said he was tortured into pleading guilty.

The men responsible for the conviction all served at the local police bureau in Shangqiu. Five were sentenced to one to two years in prison, and one did not face criminal penalties.

Zhao Zuohai received 650,000 yuan ($102,960) in compensation after his acquittal in 2010.

The officers have appealed the judgment, and they are being be re-tried.