Vital evidence relating to a rape and murder case, for which a man was convicted and executed nearly 20 years ago, was reported to have disappeared on Tuesday after judicial authorities said recently that they planned to rehear the case.

Hugjiltu, a member of the Mongolian ethnic group, was convicted as an 18-year-old of raping and choking a woman to death in a toilet at a textile factory in Hohhot, capital of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, in April 1996. He was executed 61 days after the woman was killed, despite the lack of evidence against him. At the time, the local authorities had launched a crackdown against violent crimes, and serious cases were fast-tracked through the courts.

The Mirror News reported that Hugjiltu rushed to the toilet to help when he heard the woman cry out. He found her dead and called police. But after being questioned for 48 hours, he confessed to raping and killing the woman.