Businessman seeks payment for false charges leading to 15 years on the run

A businessman from East China’s Zhejiang Province has reportedly asked the State for 5 million yuan ($750,000) compensation for having been mistakenly put on a wanted list for 15 years, giving rise to a lot of discussion.

Jin Jinshou from the city of Wenzhou, filed the appeal, saying he had been wrongly treated after being declared wanted by the police for “official embezzlement,” causing him to flee overseas for 15 years, Beijing’s The Mirror reported Monday.

Jin’s story goes back to 1999, when he got involved in a civil dispute during a business trip in Europe and, although he believed he was innocent, he decided to stay overseas for fear of being imprisoned.

In 2014, the public security bureau of Longwan in Wenzhou, reviewed Jin’s case and decided to drop the charges against him “for lack of evidence.” Jin went back home after 5,333 days on the lam.

Jin appealed to the Supreme People’s Procuratorate for compensation on September 15, saying that his rights had been denied since the police issued a warrant.

However, it’s unlikely that Jin will prevail in the case because the law does not cover wrongful persecution like this, according to a China Youth Daily report.

“Although Jin was never held by the police, his rights were infringed upon over the past 15 years, largely limiting his freedom of movement and keeping him from returning home. This offers an opportunity to discuss the matter of wrongly accusation,” read the report.

China’s State Compensation Law states that a person has the right to appeal for compensation if an administrative office or its functionaries detained that person unlawfully or took that person into custody unlawfully or deprived him of his rights by other means.