SANTIAGO, July 31 (Xinhuanet) -- The son of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet was released Saturday after two days indetention, but he was banned from leaving the country when the authorities were continuing to investigate whether he was involved in an illegal sale of vehicles.

    Prosecutor Vinko Fodic said Augusto Pinochet Hiriart was released after he was formally accused of forging license plates, illegally receiving vehicles and bearing arms in an illegal way.

    Appearing in court Saturday, Pinochet Hiriart said he is "convinced that I will be able to prove that I am innocent. I am a man of honor."

    He was detained Thursday at the Infirmary of the Penitentiary of Curico, 180 km south of Santiago, where he will have to check in every 15 days at the local court.

    Pinochet Hiriart and two others were accused of using forged license plates and receiving a stolen car. But none of them has been indicted.

    Pinochet Hiriart was also accused by Fodic of illegal possession of a gun, after a revolver was found at his residence. The Colt 32-caliber revolver was registered in the name of his father, and it was illegal to keep a gun in the home of someone other than the official owner.

    The legal problem for Pinochet Hiriart came after his father was being investigated for his 8 million US dollars in secret accounts at Riggs Bank in the United States.

    Pinochet, 88, was implicated in a drawn-out legal battle over charges of human rights abuses during his 17-year rule from 1973 to 1990.

    The trial for Pinochet was cut short in 2001 when he was diagnosed as mentally incompetent. Enditem