Criminal confessions following the questioning of suspects by police and prosecuting investigators is a problem in the PRC in that some of these admissions of guilt result from the application of illegal methods of interviewing. The interview process is regulated by legislation and policy documents that in practice are frequently ignored; illegal pressures generate false confessions which have resulted in high profile cases of injustice. This article describes one such case. The article outlines the laws and regulations covering the interview of criminal suspects; explains why the regulations and law are often flouted; and considers proposals to promote the due process approach that exists primarily in documents at the moment.
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