New evidence claims a man who has served 23 years in prison for murder may have been wrongly convicted following claims that police pressured witnesses to lie.
Allegations that witnesses, including drug addicts, were pushed to give false statements have been made as part of a BBC Panorama investigation into the case of Omar Benguit.
Benguit was convicted in January 2005 of murdering South Korean language student Jong-Ok Shin, known as Oki, in Bournemouth three years earlier.
The broadcaster claims that 13 prosecution witnesses say they were pushed to embellish their statements or lie in court, and that there is CCTV evidence that may cast doubt on an account given by a key witness.
A woman known as ‘BB’ said she went to a garage before picking up Benguit and two other men and driving to a crack den on the night of the killing, but police could not find CCTV images to back up the claims, the BBC reports.
There are other CCTV images of an unidentified man who could be Benguit using a phone box at a different location, the broadcaster said, which would suggest he did not go to the crack den.
Dorset Police has said its investigation was “thorough, detailed and very complex”, and that Benguit has already had two appeals against his conviction rejected.
Benguit was convicted at his third trial in January 2005. He appealed his conviction in July that year, but this was rejected by appeal judges.
His lawyers then applied to legal review body, the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) in May 2010, after which his case was again referred to the Court of Appeal.
The court upheld his conviction in 2014.
A second application has since been made to the CCRC, which reviews potential miscarriages of justice, and this is currently being assessed.
A CCRC spokesperson said: “Mr Benguit first applied to the CCRC in May 2010. Following a review, the CCRC referred the conviction in December 2012.
“The conviction was upheld by the Court of Appeal in 2014.
“A second application has been received and a review into this application is ongoing.
“It would be inappropriate for us to discuss the case or make any further comment while the application is being reviewed.”
Dorset Police said concerns over Benguit’s conviction are a matter for the CCRC and the Court of Appeal.
A spokesperson said: “Our investigation into Oki’s murder was thorough, detailed and very complex.
“We submitted our evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service, which considered there to be sufficient evidence to charge Omar Benguit with Oki’s murder and proceeded with the prosecution.
“Omar Benguit was unanimously convicted in January 2005 by a jury at Winchester Crown Court of the murder of Jong-Ok Shin. He was sentenced to life imprisonment.
“Benguit appealed against his conviction, but this appeal was dismissed in July 2005 by judges at the Court of Appeal.
“The case was reviewed by the Criminal Case Review Commission (CCRC) and referred to the Court of Appeal for a second time on the basis of the reliability of a prosecution witness and the suggestion of a possible alternative suspect.
“The appeal was dismissed in April 2014.
“This case has been through a series of reviews and any matter surrounding concerns regarding this conviction is ultimately a matter for the CCRC and the Court of Appeal.
“Dorset Police would follow the direction and instigate investigations if directed by the courts and responsible authorities.
“As always, our thoughts are with Oki’s family and friends who remain devastated by their loss.”
