Killer mother gets lenient sentence

Han Qunfeng wipes away tears as the verdict is announced in a court in Dongguan, Guangdong Province, yesterday. She was sentenced to five years in prison on charges of murder for killing her twin sons who were suffering from cerebral palsy.

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THE woman who attempted suicide after killing her 13-year-old twin sons with cerebral palsy in a south China city was sentenced to five years in prison for murder yesterday.

Han Qunfeng, 37, was given a lenient sentence because she had "an extremely complicated family background and motive," Dongguan City No. 1 People's Court in Guangdong Province said, according to news portal Timedg.com.

The former bank clerk made her sons drink water laced with sleeping pills before drowning them in the bathtub at her home in November 2010.

She then dressed her sons in new pajamas and consumed a mixture of pesticide and rat poison to kill herself. But she threw up some of the poison in a semi-conscious state, was rushed to hospital by her husband the next morning and saved, the court heard.

Han pleaded guilty and regretted killing her twin sons at the hearing on June 2.

Han said she had lost all hope after looking after her disabled children for 13 years.

The twins were born premature and suffered brain damage at childbirth.

Han's husband said the family was nearly bankrupt after spending all the money on the twins' treatment.

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