Man who confessed to 17 rapes, murders faces trial

Li Sanren (L) and Shang Aiyun, parents of Huugjilt, who was wrongly executed for rape and murder at age 18, show the verdict of state compensation totaling more than 2 million yuan (about $322,000) in Hohhot, capital of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, on Dec 31, 2014. On Dec 15, 2014, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Regional Higher People's Court overturned Huugjilt's previous conviction and ruled he was not guilty of rape and murder, saying that the facts of his case were unclear and evidence was inadequate. [Photo/Xinhua]

Zhao confessed to most of the alleged robbery and theft, but denied he stole the gold ring. His lawyers, Xie Fei and Zhang Ruijun, argued that the evidence was inadequate.

Zhao was apprehended in 2005 and confessed to a string of rape and murder cases, including one in a public toilet in Hohhot in 1996.

The Hohhot case made headlines recently, as a higher court ruled in December 2014 that teenager Huugjilt, who was sentenced to death and executed for the crime, was innocent.

Huugjilt's parents, who also attended the trial on Monday morning, received state compensation totaling more than 2 million yuan after their son's acquittal.

Zhao first stood trial in late 2006 for raping and killing nine women and girls and raping seven others as well as robbery and larceny between 1996 and 2005.

Zhao's trial continued on Monday afternoon, but was not open to the public for privacy reasons as proceedings focused on the rape and murder cases.