Legal authorities in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region plan to rehear a case of rape and murder 18 years after the convicted man was executed, Mirror News reported in Beijing on Thursday.

The decision comes as legal authorities across the country seek to correct miscarriages of justice and achieve greater transparency and independence, the report said.

But another news outlet, thepaper.cn, reported later on Thursday that the convicted man's family and lawyer have yet to receive any confirmed news from the legal authorities.