Wang Guoqi, 42, who served a four-year prison sentence for a crime he didn’t commit, has received compensation from the State totaling 430,000 RMB.

Wang dropped out of school at the age of 15, leaving home to work pouring cement. In 2009, Wang started a business selling toys, including toy guns, in Guangzhou, Guangdong province. However, just six months later, on Oct. 19, 2009, a customer ordered eight toy guns and left Wang a delivery address. Wang sent the guns, but received a call from the logistics company that same afternoon. When Wang arrived at the company’s office, as directed, he was arrested by police, accused of the illegal sale and transportation of guns.

Wang's mother and his wife

Wang was sentenced to 10 years in prison at his assigned trial. However, Wang’s family and lawyer kept appealing the case, and in 2012 the court scheduled a retrial, amending Wang’s sentence to four years. Wang was released upon completion of his sentence in 2013.

Wang then returned to his hometown of Handan, Hebei province, laboring as a construction worker to earn a living. On Jan. 25, 2016, Wang received a court verdict acknowledging his innocence; referring to the authentication standards of genuine firearms, the verdict declared that Wang’s behavior didn’t constitute a crime.

Wang received the compensation on Oct. 17. When asked how he would use the money, Wang said he would pay his debts as well as his mother’s medical expenses. The rest he plans to set aside for his son’s marriage.