Second court accepts disputed confession

A court in Zhejiang province on Wednesday sentenced a former official to two years in prison for taking bribes after accepting his confession as proof of guilt.

The verdict was widely observed because the confession, which the former official said had been given under torture, was rejected by another court during a first trial. That was believed to be the first time on the mainland a court rejected evidence deemed as being obtained through illegal means.

The Intermediate People's Court of Ningbo in Zhejiang province ruled Zhang Guoxi, a former official in the construction department of the government-run Donghu holiday resort, guilty of bribery. Zhang was sentenced to two years in prison and his illegal gains will be confiscated.