Two Manitoba First Nations men have been acquitted in the 1973 killing of a Winnipeg restaurant worker Ting Fong Chan.
A Winnipeg judge said systemic and individual racial discrimination within the justice system played a part in the wrongful conviction of both Brian Anderson and Allan Woodhouse.
Lawyers for the men told the court that at the time of the Anderson’s arrest, police used “physical violence and threats” to get a confession. They said the convictions were largely based on a signed confession by Anderson who didn’t know what he was signing as English was not his first language.
Manitoba’s justice minister Kelvin Goerzten released a statement on July 18th about the ruling. He said, “Fifty years ago, a miscarriage of justice took place in the conviction of Brian Anderson and Allan Woodhouse for the murder of Ting Fong Chan.
While nothing that can be said that will bring back the years of lost freedom or the time away from family and friends, as the current attorney general of Manitoba I offer my heartfelt apologies to Mr. Anderson, Mr. Woodhouse and their families.
There has also been hardship caused by this wrongful conviction to the family of Ting Fong Chan, who have sought justice for their loved one and mourned his passing for five decades. This miscarriage of justice compounds the suffering of the Chan family as well, and as attorney general, I regret and recognize this hardship.”
Anderson and Woodhouse, from Pinaymootang First Nation north of Winnipeg, were sentenced to life in prison when they were teens for the killing of Chan, who was stabbed to death near a construction site.
