CHINA will require police to film and record all interrogations in criminal cases to ensure that law enforcement is carried out fairly and that suspects’ rights are protected, according to a reform plan by the Ministry of Public Security.

    It is aimed at stamping out the extortion and torture that can happen in these scenarios, it said.

    The plan, approved by the Central Government yesterday, includes a plan to improve evidence gathering and the accountability of police officers handling cases.

    Chinese police will establish lifelong accountability for erroneous cases. To ensure accountability, investigators should take responsibility for the cases they investigate, according to the plan.

    The ministry said in a statement that the credibility of China’s 2 million police officers has been damaged by problems including officers accepting bribes and bending the law to serve themselves.

    The ministry will work hard to build a police force ruled by law and make sure people are treated fairly in law enforcement activities, it said.

    One high-profile wrongful conviction — and execution — was that of teenager Huugjilt in Inner Mongolia. Huugjilt, who was found guilty of rape and murder in 1996, was finally declared innocent last December, 18 years after he was wrongfully convicted.

    The real killer was sentenced to death last week.

    In another case, a former food stall owner who was on death row was acquitted of poisoning two children in August last year, after being in prison for eight years.

    Nian Bin, a Fujian native, said he was tortured into confessing during police interrogations.

    (Xinhua)

    (Related story on P4)