Blogger who mocked politician wins case

A Chinese blogger sentenced to a year in a labour camp said a court cleared his name yesterday in the first known instance of judges overturning a case linked to China's biggest political scandal in years.

Mr Fang Hong said a court in the south-western city of Chongqing threw out his conviction for lack of evidence and ruled that the year he spent in the labour camp was an illegal detention.

The retired civil servant was arrested after posting a brief poem mocking now-disgraced politician Bo Xilai, who ruthlessly attacked critics and accused gang bosses in Chongqing before being dismissed as the city's Communist Party chief and suspended from other posts in March.

Mr Fang was convicted and sentenced in April last year.

He said he would seek state compensation of about US$6,000 (S$7,600) and apologies from the city government and media outlets that put forward the accusations against him.

"I am very happy both personally and for the city of Chongqing," Mr Fang told AP. "This is the start of a process of restoring the rule of law in the city."

A clerk reached by phone at the Chongqing Third Intermediate Court confirmed that Mr Fang's case had been heard yesterday but declined to give details or her name in line with regulations. She said a verdict would be announced through state media.