NANCHANG -- Four people who were acquitted from a wrongful conviction of 13 years ago have each received 2.27 million yuan ($330,000) from the state, the Jiangxi Higher People's Court said.

Huang Zhiqiang, Fang Chunping, Cheng Fagen and Cheng Lihe were sentenced to death by the Intermediate People's Court of Jingdezhen city in July 2003 for murder, rape and robbery on May 23, 2000 in Leping City, in central China's Jiangxi Province. The appeal process has been continuing since 2003.

In 2016, the Jiangxi Higher People's Court ruled that the facts were unclear, the evidence insufficient, and the authenticity and legitimacy of their confessions in doubt.

Xia Keqin, vice president of Jiangxi higher court, made an apology to the four after their acquittal.