Late justice a lesson for judicial practice

We have mixed feelings about the acquittal of Chen Man, who was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve in 1994 on the charge of arson and murder.

We feel both happy and sorry for him, as he could have been released 23 years ago had the police in Haikou, South China's Hainan province, followed the right legal procedure, as there was no sound evidence to incriminate him.

He could also have been acquitted in 1994 had Haikou Intermediate People's Court done a good job of examining the evidence provided by prosecutors.