By Fu Wen

The farmer in Henan Province who was wrongly imprisoned for 11 years for "killing a villager" was tortured into confessing to the crime, a senior prose-cution official said, adding that the case and several officials are under investigation.

The farmer, Zhao Zuohai, was released on Sunday after his "murder victim" returned home alive and well.

Zhao, 57, was accused of killing Zhao Zhenshang, 56, and served 11 years behind bars for a crime he did not commit.

The fate of Zhao Zuohai changed in late April when Zhao Zhenshang, who had left the village after disputes with Zhao Zuohai over money and a woman, returned to the Zhaolou village to apply for medical insurance and put the entire village in shock.

The "victim" said he fled the village because he thought he killed the jailed man during a fight.

"I thought I killed Zhao Zuohai (and I wanted to escape)," Zhao Zhenshang said earlier.

Zhao Zuohai's sister told China Central Television (CCTV) on Monday that her brother cried after he left the prison and he told her that he confessed because he thought he would be killed if he did not.

Earlier reports also said the wrongly accused protested his verdict in vain.

Song Guoqiang, head of public prosecution department of Shangqiu procuratorate, told CCTV Tuesday that he is certain that confessions through torture was used.

"Zhao said many times that he was beaten," Song said. "We are investigating the case now and will punish those who abused their authority."

The villagers and a court were convinced that Zhao Zhenshang, who left the village in 1997 after a dispute with Zhao Zuohai, was killed by Zhao Zuohai after they found a headless body in a well in 1999.

Zhao Zuohai was detained in 1999 for the murder, and was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve by the Intermediate People's Court in Shangqiu in 2002.

The DNA report from the headless body was never confirmed as that of the missing Zhao, the Beijing News reported Tuesday.

The police still said Zhao Zuohai was the murderer because he confessed nine times during interrogation, and a bag used to wrap the headless body belonged to his family, the report said.

The Party committee of Shangqiu established a special team to investigate seven officials who work for the police, procuratorate and court, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Zhao Qizhong, a deputy director of the public security bureau in Shangqiu, told the Beijing News that the quality of police officers more than a de-cade ago did not match today's standards.

After he was released from prison, Zhao Zuohai moved into his brother-in-law's house, the Beijing News reported.

Jing Wei, director of the compensation office in the provincial High People's Court, told the Global Times Tuesday that Zhao can submit his application for State compensation within two years, and will get the money within 22 days after approval.

"We estimate that the compensation for Zhao's 4,019 days of wrong detention would surpass 450,000 yuan ($65,885) and other compensation issues are still under investigation," said Jing.

A recent revision on the country's State compensation law said that any wrongly detained suspect could apply for mental compensation, which will come into force on December 1 this year. However, Zhao's case will be handled under current law, which does not mention mental compensation issues.

"We will also consider about Zhao's mental and bodily injuries compensation based on his requirement and investigation result," Jing added.