Chinese man wrongly jailed for alleged murder applies for state compensation

CHANGCHUN - A Chinese man who was wrongly jailed for seven years for a murder he did commit applied for 2.82 million yuan (435,185 U.S. dollars) in state compensation Thursday.

Yong Kuikui, 35, delivered the application letter to the Tonghua Intermediate People's Court in northeast China's Jilin Province through his attorney.

"I always have a backache and I have a poor memory," said Yong, who was freed earlier this month.

"Seven years in prison made me suffer from multiple illnesses," he said.

The compensation includes 620,709 yuan for violation of personal freedom, 1.5 million yuan for spiritual damage, 500,000 yuan for health and 200,000 yuan for loss of work.

Yong, a resident from Siping City, was convicted of murdering a 74-year-old woman at a fruit store on Jan. 19, 2008.

Yong was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for murder in July 2009. Yong's fingerprint correlated with those found on a bag of oranges that were left behind at the scene, according to the police.

The Jilin Provincial Higher People's Court revoked the rule due to lack of evidence and ordered for a retrial.

The Tonghua court sentenced Yong for a second death in December 2010 and the ruling was rejected again by the provincial higher people's court in June 2012.

The court sentenced Yong to death for a third time in October 2014. Yong appealed to the provincial higher court as before.

The Jilin Provincial Higher People's declared Yong innocent in a final ruling on Dec. 4 this year due to lack of evidence.