Li Gang Accused of 'Falsifying Evidence' in Murder, Burglary Case Appeal

A high-ranking police officer whose son was jailed in 2011 for causing death by drunk driving, and who notoriously uttered the words "my father is Li Gang" to warn off his accusers, has himself been accused of "falsifying evidence" in a review of a murder case due to come before the Hebei People's High Court.

Hebei provincial deputy district police chief Li Gang, whose name became a household word among Chinese netizens after his son Li Qiming's now-infamous warning, stands accused of falsifying evidence against Wang Chao, a 29-year-old man from Hebei's Shijiazhuang city.

According to the China Youth Daily newspaper, Wang was sentenced to 13 years' imprisonment in 2011 for murder during a burglary, despite a lack of evidence at the crime scene linking him to the crime and a cast-iron alibi.

Wang has maintained his innocence throughout, applied for reviews of the evidence and appealed. His second appeal was filed at the provincial high court on Monday.

His appeal includes accusations that Li Gang, who was in charge of the investigation, "falsified" evidence against him.

According to Wang's defense attorney, police under Li Gang's command sought out witnesses for the defense and forced them to change their testimony and sign new statements ahead of the trial.

Some had previously testified that Wang was involved in a traffic accident in Shijiazhuang at the time the crime took place, but their changed statements were accepted by the court.

Guangzhou-based rights lawyer Ge Wenxiu said Chinese police have many ways of falsifying evidence, and judges are all too accepting of such practices.

"This can involve forced confessions, forcing witnesses to give evidence through the use of violence, which are problematic in themselves," Ge said.

"Meanwhile, there's nothing the bureaucratic class won't do to protect its own interests, so they [can falsify evidence] using the bureaucracy," he said.

He said such practices are often sanctioned by the ruling Chinese Communist Party's political and legal affairs committees, which oversee the entire law enforcement process at every level of government.

"The results of forced confessions, or evidence given under threat of violence are legitimized as admissible evidence [by them], and allowed through," Ge said.

"It's the fault of the current judicial system."

Notorious for framing suspects

Hubei-based writer Liu Yimin said Chinese police are notorious for framing suspects.

"The police sometimes know very well that there are serious problems with their case, but they will do everything they can to get the suspect convicted, so as to reap the rewards," Liu said.

"There are many, many miscarriages of justice, trumped up charges and wrongful convictions, all of which are actually preventable."

"The emergence of this case doesn't just suggest a problem with Li Gang, but also with society as a whole," Liu said. "This is extremely common in China."

A string of fatal traffic accidents involving powerful figures, many of whom have gone unpunished, has sparked widespread public anger in recent years.

Li Qiming pleaded guilty to drunk driving and manslaughter at his trial in Wangdu county in China’s Hebei province in January 2011 and was jailed for six years after a road accident in which a female student died.

Li Qiming's case brought him nationwide notoriety because of his defiant outburst to officials and angry witnesses to the incident: "Go ahead, sue me. My father is Li Gang!" he reportedly told them.

Li's outburst sparked widespread rage and satirical attacks from Chinese netizens. Li Gang was the deputy chief of Baoding's Beishi district police bureau at the time.

Along with his jail term, Li was ordered to pay compensation to the family of the dead student, Chen Xiaofeng, and to another victim of the crash.

Reported by Qiao Long for RFA's Mandarin Service, and by the Cantonese Service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie.