Chen Man(Left) and his brother, Chen Yi are testing SUV.

Chen Man, 53, served 23 years behind bars for the crimes of arson and murder. After Chen's wrongful conviction came to light, he was released in February and awarded compensation of 2.75 million yuan ($429,000) in May.

On Aug. 7, Chen said in an interview with Chengdu Economic Daily that he had put nearly all his compensation money in the bank. His only purchase was a 300,000-yuan SUV, which he bought for his parents. “I owe so much to my parents, and I hope to help them get around with this SUV,” Chen explained.

Over the past 23 years, Chen’s parents have worked non-stop on their son's appeal. “After years of emotional upheaval, my father finally gets to relax. But already he has some ailments to deal with. It is hard for him to walk now,” Chen said. In June, Chen’s father was hospitalized and sent to Chengdu for more advanced treatment. Reflecting on this incident, Chen said, “It would have been much easier if we had had a car.”

Buying a car was also Chen’s father’s wish. “My father is a man who likes traveling but had no chance to do so because of my brother’s case,” said Chen Yi, Chen Man’s brother. “My father always wanted to visit the sea of bamboo in Yibin.”

After the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008, Chen’s parents moved from Mianzhu to Yibin, Sichuan. “My parents finally lived near the sea of bamboo, but my father was so occupied with my brother’s case that he never got the chance to see it. Father still occasionally mentions it,” recalled Chen Yi.

In early July, Chen enrolled in a local driving school to prepare for the driver’s license test.