Two men suspected of involvement in a triple murder 12 years ago appeared in court on Friday after a fingerprint match on a national database last year.

In June 1993, three Japanese tourists were robbed and killed in their hotel room in Xi'an, capital of the northwestern province of Shaanxi.

Although fingerprints were recovered from the scene, local police had no other clues to go on and were unable to find the perpetrators.

In April 2001, officers swooped on an illegal gambling den in Guilin, a city in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and arrested and fingerprinted all those rounded up.

Their prints were all subsequently filed on a national database.

It was not until last year that officers in Guigang, another city in Guangxi, matched a print from one of the gamblers to one found at the murder scene.

They immediately alerted police in Xi'an and the suspect Hai Ting, now 30, was arrested. On questioning, Hai confessed his involvement in the murders and named a man called Cao Xiude, 35, as his accomplice.

In court on Friday, both defendants denied involvement in the crime, claiming police had forced their confessions.

But their lawyers submitted guilty pleas to charges of murder and robbery, apparently regardless of their defendants' wishes.

Hai's lawyer urged leniency, pointing out he was not quite 18 at the time of the crime.

The Xi'an Intermediate People's Court was adjourned before sentences were passed.

(China Daily February 28, 2005)