Justice system, police evolved since forced confessions convicted Indigenous men in killing 50 years ago, Smyth says

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This article was published 20/07/2023 (779 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg police chief Danny Smyth expects detectives will re-examine the investigation into the slaying of a restaurant worker 50 years ago after two men convicted in the murder were completely exonerated in court this week.

Ting Fong Chan, a 40-year-old father of two, was killed in a bloody beating and stabbing in the Exchange District early July 17, 1973, after leaving a night shift as a cook at a downtown restaurant.

In 1974, Brian Anderson and Allan John (A.J.) Woodhouse, then 18 and 17 respectively, were wrongfully convicted in the brutal slaying of Chan as part of a group of four First Nations men Winnipeg police arrested.

The convictions resulted from false — and coerced — confessions elicited by a Winnipeg police detective squad accused of using violence and intimidation to produce manufactured statements in that case and others.

In the Court of King’s Bench on Tuesday, Chief Justice Glenn Joyal acquitted the two men of the murder charges, apologizing on behalf of the provincial justice system, asserting the case against the two men from Pinaymootang First Nation was rooted in systemic racism.

On Thursday, Smyth said police will take another look at the file on Chan’s killing in light of the acquittal.

“The file itself would probably be forwarded to our historical homicide unit to do a review to see if there’s anything that can be advanced — on a 50-year-old investigation,” Smyth said.

The men had fought for 50 years to prove their innocence. Tuesday’s acquittal came after federal Justice Minister David Lametti quashed their convictions last month when new evidence came to light, prompting him to order the new trial. The Crown called no evidence before Joyal’s acquittal.

Smyth said the justice system and police investigations have changed in the decades since city detectives railroaded the two innocent men.

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“I’m encouraged by a lot of the progressive changes that have occurred since that time,” he said. “The Charter of Rights comes to mind, case law… and the way that we collect statements; it’s all very different than what was happening 50 years ago.

“I think there are some really good checks and balances that will prevent that will prevent that kind of thing from happening again.”

He noted he had not personally had a chance to look at the file on Chan’s death.

“Whether there’s anything that can be looked at now 50 years later, we’ll need to do a review of that,” the chief said.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca

Erik Pindera
Reporter

Erik Pindera is a reporter for the Free Press, mostly focusing on crime and justice. The born-and-bred Winnipegger attended Red River College Polytechnic, wrote for the community newspaper in Kenora, Ont. and reported on television and radio in Winnipeg before joining the Free Press in 2020.  Read more about Erik.

Every piece of reporting Erik produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.