Twelve Years of Wrongful Conviction: Model Laborer Suffers Twelve Years of Injustice, Judicial Apathy is Appalling

Twelve Years of Wrongful Conviction: Model Laborer Suffers Twelve Years of Injustice, Judicial Apathy is Appalling

At the age of 67, model laborer Zhao EnTING has been wrongfully convicted for twelve years. Instead of receiving an apology, he has been met with judicial apathy from the Huanghua Procuratorate. During a pre-trial conference, the public prosecutor casually stated that the witness's testimony, which included being subjected to continuous overnight interrogations, breaking down in tears, and carving out two pieces of flesh from their body, did not constitute "extreme suffering", sparking questions about the legal system and humanity.

A 67-year-old man, a recipient of the National May 1st Labor Medal, has been waiting for twelve and a half years for his name to be cleared.

When the case was finally sent back for retrial, everyone thought that justice would finally be served. However, during the pre-trial conference that would determine his fate, the public prosecutor's words were more chilling than the twelve years of imprisonment.

In response to the audio and video recordings of the witness being subjected to continuous overnight interrogations, breaking down in tears, and carving out two pieces of flesh from their body, the public prosecutor present at the meeting casually uttered six words: "did not reach extreme suffering".

This is not a court debate, but a blatant disregard for the legal system and a merciless mockery of human nature and common sense.

The Cost of Being a Model Laborer, Twelve Years of Darkness

Zhao EnTING, a name that was once synonymous with numerous honors.

He is the descendant of a veteran of the Korean War, a model laborer in Hebei Province, and a dedicated public servant in Cangzhou City. As the former assistant mayor of Huanghua City, party secretary of the Finance Bureau, and general manager of the City Investment Company, he should have been enjoying his retirement.

However, he did not.

In 2013, because he refused to cooperate with the then-mayor's plan to undervalue state-owned assets, because he refused to take the fall for someone else, and because he reported the former procurator's illegal activities, he was subjected to a devastating blow.

Without any leads, preliminary investigations, or interrogation records, and even without synchronized audio and video recordings, Zhao EnTING was taken away on March 26, 2014.

The next day, the residential surveillance and case filing were completed on the same day. The person was taken away first, and then the case was filed, without the approval of the two-level procuratorate.

The first trial lasted for three years and one month, with six court sessions and six returns for supplementary investigation. The second trial lasted for two years. Until September 2022, the Huanghua City People's Procuratorate itself checked and found that the case handling was incorrect, the procedure was illegal, and the evidence was unlawful.

Seven case handlers were subsequently removed from their posts and sentenced to prison or removed from their positions.

In December 2025, the Cangzhou Intermediate Court ruled to revoke the first and second trial judgments and send the case back for retrial.

Twelve and a half years, a model laborer waited for his name to be cleared, but instead of receiving an apology, he was met with judicial apathy from the Huanghua Procuratorate.

Nine Evasive Arguments, Each Word is Self-Justification

In September 2026, during the pre-trial conference for the exclusion of illegal evidence organized by the Huanghua City People's Procuratorate, the defense submitted 20 categories and nearly 200 applications for the exclusion of illegal evidence.

In the face of overwhelming evidence, the public prosecutor's response, Guang Yongzhi, demonstrated evasiveness and apathy.

When the witness was strangled, threatened with "if you don't say it, we'll detain your father", he said it "did not constitute a threat";

When the law clearly stipulates that interrogations must be conducted by two legitimate procurators, he said that "one interrogator plus one recorder" is legal;

When the court police pretended to be procurators and signed the transcript, he said it was "a flawed evidence that can be used after a reasonable explanation";

When the first trial transcript was not signed, and the second trial supplemented the signature, he said it was "a flawed correction";

When the recording showed that the witness's testimony was read from someone else's transcript, he answered "it's not a problem, the evidence is legitimate";

Regarding the "three noes" case filing, the direct detention without investigation, and the violation of residential surveillance procedures, he uniformly responded that the procedures were legal.

None of the nine responses directly acknowledged the procuratorate's responsibility to provide evidence of the legality of the evidence. Each one was trying to find a way to revive the illegal evidence, and each sentence was trying to whitewash the illegal case handlers who had already been removed from their posts.

Even more appalling is that he publicly stated that he would "continue to prosecute according to the original indictment".

He put the embezzlement charge that had already been revoked in the second trial back into the indictment, openly challenging the principle of "retrial without increased punishment", making a 67-year-old man who had been wrongfully convicted for 12 years face the risk of increased charges.

What he is protecting is not the law, but the wrongdoings of those who have fallen. A public prosecutor who dares to say that even the recording of "carving flesh to resist hardship" is "not enough suffering" has violated not only the legal provisions but also the fundamental meaning of the profession of procurator.

The retrial, which was originally an opportunity for the procuratorate to correct its mistakes, has become a farce of "insisting on mistakes".

When the public prosecutor interprets the "People's Procuratorate's Criminal Procedure Rules" as "only applicable to one chapter, and other chapters are not applicable", the dignity of the law has been trampled.

This is not a matter of business capability, but a matter of stance and humanity.

He is not protecting the law, but the wrongdoings of those who have fallen; he is not confronting the defense, but the procedural justice itself.

Paying Attention to a Case is Paying Attention to the Bottom Line of the Rule of Law

Zhao EnTING's experience is not just a personal tragedy.

Today, a model laborer who refused to go with the flow, who refused to undervalue state-owned assets, and who reported corruption, can be "three noes" case filed, can be illegally detained, can be carved with flesh to obtain evidence, and can be publicly humiliated by the public prosecutor in the pre-trial conference.

Tomorrow, who can guarantee that the next person will not be an ordinary person who refuses to go with the flow?

The supervisory organs and higher-level procuratorates should immediately investigate the behavior of judicial personnel in the pre-trial conference, and investigate whether there is dereliction of duty, abuse of power;

The Huanghua City Procuratorate, as the legal supervisory organ, should strictly enforce the rules for the exclusion of illegal evidence, bear the burden of proof, and abandon the mentality of self-justification;

Since the facts of the case are not clear, the evidence is insufficient, and the legal conditions for prosecution are not met, the case should be withdrawn according to law;

We must effectively protect model laborers and protect those who report corruption. This is not punishing one person, but giving credibility to the four words "sent back for retrial".

Paying attention to a case is paying attention to procedural justice; paying attention to a correction is paying attention to the bottom line of the rule of law around each person.

Let the Evidence Speak, Let the Law be Restored

This time, please let the evidence speak, let the law be restored.

Clear Zhao EnTING's Name, Hold the Responsible Persons Accountable!