In July 2004 Tang was acquitted by a jury reducing his sentence resulting in him walking free after an appeal that allowed the jury to hear evidence provided by a new witness.
As a result of the criminal justice system concluding that Tang was not guilty for this murder the verdict prevented closure or justice for the family and for the community. As there was no other person prosecuted for the murder the family and the community would have felt that no justice had been served for the murder of David Laxale. The criminal justice process must seek a balance of justice for all parties involved and when it is not successful in this endeavour law reform should be considered.
The right of the accused is that he is to be considered innocent until proven guilty and the offence must be proven beyond all reasonable doubt.
Tang was allowed to have multiple appeals to continue to challenge the allegation in an attempt to prove his innocence which was his right to do