A Chinese man who spent 11 years in jail after being tortured into confessing to the murder of a man who later turned up alive has been given £64,000 in government compensation, state media reported yesterday.

Zhao Zuohai, 57, received the money from judicial officials in Shangqiu City, central Henan province, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

Mr Zhao was released from prison after the man he was convicted of killing more than a decade ago reappeared in their home village last month.

After his release, Mr Zhao said he was forced to confess to murder because police had beaten him up during interrogations and made him stay awake for days.

"It was better to be dead than alive," he told the Beijing News.

The incident has raised concerns about torture, which is believed to be widely used by Chinese police in criminal cases.

In 1999, Zhao Zuohai was arrested when another man, Zhao Zhenshang, now 58, disappeared after the two had an argument, according to earlier reports. He was convicted of murder after a headless body believed to be Zhao Zhenshang was found, state media reported.

Police and court officials are investigating the case and have promised to penalise those responsible for the wrongful conviction. Two police officers have been detained on suspicion of torturing Mr Zhao to get him to confess and a third one is at large, Xinhua said.