Rapist-killer convicted 21 years later

Top prosecutors made exception to time limit because of crime's brutality

A man who raped and killed an 8-year-old girl more than 20 years ago was finally convicted of the crime after a rare move by the Supreme People's Procuratorate approving his prosecution even though the time limit for legal action had expired.

The man, surnamed Liu, was tried in Zhengzhou Intermediate People's Court, which sentenced him on Jan 24 to death with a reprieve of two years. He was also deprived of his political rights for life and ordered to pay the victim's family 42,900 yuan ($6,800) in compensation, according to a statement about the case released on Thursday by the SPP.