East China rape, murder review prolonged again

A court in east China has extended for a second time the review of a rape and murder case in which a young man was executed 20 years ago, only to have another man confess to the crime years later.

The review of the case of Nie Shubin, which had been scheduled to end on Tuesday, has been extended for three months, the higher people's court of Shandong Province announced on Tuesday.

The court said the extension was due to the "needs of the review" without providing more details. The decision has been approved by the Supreme People's Court, it added.

Nie, a native of Hebei Province, which neighbors Shandong, was 21 when he was convicted and executed for the rape and murder of a woman in Hebei's capital, Shijiazhuang. However, in 2005, Wang Shujin said he was responsible for the crime.

In December 2014, five judges from the provincial higher court started to review the case. The review was first extended on June 11.

The case is similar to a 1996 case from Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, where a teenager named Huugjilt was executed for the rape and murder of a woman in June 1996. A self-confessed serial rapist and killer later admitted to the crime while in police custody in 2005.

In December 2014, Huugjilt was acquitted by the regional higher people's court. His parents received state compensation of more than 2 million yuan (327,060 U.S. dollars). Endi