PROSECUTORS have decided to videotape interrogations and interviews with suspects as evidence against the possibility of some defendants retracting their testimony in court.

　　The move was taken after the Shenzhen Procuratorate decided to draw on the experience of Hong Kong ICAC and other major cities in the country, the Daily Sunshine reported yesterday.The move was seen as a means of safeguarding the image of the procuratorate as some criminal suspects, and sometimes witnesses, withdrew their confessions or retracted their testimony in court.Defendants guilty of serious corruption are reportedly more likely to withdraw their confessions on the advice of their lawyers.The audio-visual materials would be filed away as evidence after the interrogation and a copy would be available on demand.The videotapes would also help prevent prosecutors from tricking or coercing the defendants into making a confession and also guard against prosecutors changing testimony for personal gain, an official with the Shenzhen Procuratorate said.