Story By: Lee Bullen, Sub-Editor: Lee Bullen,  Agency: Asia Wire Report

The Chinese police have vowed to reopen the investigation into a 1993 double murder case after the convicted killer was exonerated after 26 years in jail due to lack of evidence.

Zhang Yuhuan’s nearly 30-year-old conviction was overturned by the Supreme People’s Court of Jiangxi Province on 4th August.

After serving 9,778 days for the murder of two children in 1993, Zhang, 53, was released due to lack of evidence.

It was the longest conviction to be overturned in China so far, according to South China Morning Post.

The police in the Chinese province of Jiangxi have vowed to reopen the case.

The regional Supreme People’s Court also apologised to Zhang for their misjudgement and granted him permission to apply for compensation.

Zhang had claimed during several interviews that his previous confession had been coerced by the police under questioning.

He said: “I request that judicial authorities hold accountable those who sought improper means to extort a confession to make up for the 26 years I lost.”

His ex-wife Song Xiaonu said that she always knew he was no murderer and should be freed.

Upon his release, Song said that all she wanted was a big hug from her ex-husband and to return to her quiet life.

Zhang and Song divorced in 1999, six years after his arrest.

In October 1993, the bodies of two boys, aged six and four, were found in a reservoir in a village in Jinxian County.

The police suspected that they had been murdered and Zhang, a carpenter in the village, was arrested and later convicted.

Local official Wang Yihua revealed that Zhang is receiving help from the local community to adapt to normal life again.

Wang said: “We have volunteers to help with some psychological counselling, which is beneficial for him to adapt to today’s society more easily.”

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