China's top court has decided to retry a case in which a 21-year-old man was sentenced to death and executed after a review of the case found the original conviction for rape and homicide was based on insufficient evidence.

The Supreme People's Court designated Shandong High People's Court to conduct the review of the case, and it concluded there was not enough evidence to prove Nie Shubin was guilty of the crimes.

In its report, Shandong People's High Court raised serious questions about the times involved, the tools used and the cause of death, the Supreme People's Court said in a statement released on Wednesday.