A man in Bac Giang Province who was given death sentence four times for murder at several hearings has just been released after recent investigations proved that there was not enough evidence to convict him.

Han Duc Long from Yen Ly Village, Tan Yen District, said he was beyond happy when being released on December 20. Despite numerous wrongful sentences, Long said he still believed in justice.

"I feel like I'm on cloud nine. I have my faith in justice. I want to thank my family and the lawyers who helped ensure justice for me, no matter the challenges," he said.

Han Duc Long at his home after being released on December 20

Long said he had high blood pressure, arthritis and walking difficulties. The family want to take him to hospital but they couldn't afford it. Their own land-use-rights certificate has been used as collateral for loans over the years.

"My family is deep in debt. I can't remember how much," he said.

Nguyen Van Tinh, a former military medic, said Long was weak and psychologically unstable. He needs a whole medical check-up.

Nguyen Thi Mai, Long's wife, said when her husband was imprisoned, their two children were around 15 years old. She had raised the children and fought for her husband at the same time.

"When they got married, I photoshopped him into the wedding photos so that our children wouldn't feel embarrassed. Our family's reputation in the village was bad because my husband was accused of murder. There were many nights rocks were thrown at our house," she said.

Long has high blood pressure

Lawyer Ngo Ngoc Trai said Long's family had to suffer a lot after years of imprisonment. He said, "The authorities need to publicly apologise and compensate him. We met various challenges while fighting for him, the judicial agencies didn't want to co-operate."

Long and his wife (middle) and two lawyers at his home

In May 2005, the body of Nguyen Thi Yen, born in 2000, was found. There were signs that she was raped. Four months later, the provincial police suspended the case and encourage local people to denounce the killer.

A neighbour claimed that Long had raped her and her daughter and Yen. While being investigated, it was said that Long admitted to raping and killing Yen.

Long was sentenced to death by Bac Giang Province People's Court and Supreme People's Court in four hearings from 2007 to 2011. Long claimed he was innocent and that his statement was taken under duress.

In 2014, the Supreme People's Court reopened the case to clear up conflicting details of the case. President Truong Tan Sang asked the judicial agencies to re-investigate the case after receiving the petition from Long's family.

On August 25, Bac Giang People's Procuracy announced that they had returned the case to Bac Giang police for further investigation as there was not enough evidence to accuse Long of murder.