HK man wrongfully convicted: RP court

HK man wrongfully convicted: RP court

MANILA (Reuter): The Philippine Supreme Court on Thursday quashed the conviction of a Hong Kong man sentenced to life for allegedly murdering his fiance and ordered his immediate release.

The court also slammed the police for torturing the man into admitting the crime.

It ordered the immediate release of Yip Wai-ming and directed Manila's police to look for the real killer of Lam Po-chun, who was strangled to death in a hotel on July 11, 1993, a day after she and Yip arrived in the country.

Yip had been in jail since police arrested him three years ago for the murder which the court said he did not commit.

"The desire of a police officer to solve a high profile crime which could mean a promotion or additional medals...is admirable," the court said in its ruling.

"However, an investigator must pursue various leads and hypotheses instead of single-mindedly pursuing one suspect and limiting his investigation to that one possibility, excluding other various probabilities," it said.

The court added, "It is not enough to solve a crime. The truth is more important and justice must be rendered."

It castigated the police for torturing Yip, an employee of a Hong Kong motor firm, to force him to say he committed the crime. Court records said investigators sat on Yip's stomach, placed a handkerchief over his face and poured water and beer through the handkerchief.