Mother free after killing daughter

Source: Xinhua  |   2008-11-1  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

A mother has been spared jail after she admitted poisoning and smothering her 20-year-old daughter who was suffering from brain paralysis.

Beijing Haidian People's Court heard Li Daohong fed her daughter Zhang Fei more than 200 sleeping pills in a Beijing hotel and smothered the girl with towels and a quilt after she was asleep.

Li, a villager from east China's Jiangsu Province, said she was in despair as she had spent her last penny taking her daughter all over the country for treatment for the past 20 years.

The court heard the family income was provided by Li's husband, who looks after bicycles in the town.

"I'm afraid I will no longer be able to look after my daughter as I'm getting old," Li, 47, cried when she was questioned in court.

Zhang Zhi, Li's elder daughter, said her mother had looked after her sister around the clock. She was constantly tired and would often faint from low blood pressure and low glucose levels, the court was told.

Li's neighbors sent a joint letter to the court, describing her as a "kind mother" and asking for mercy as Li could not afford a lawyer to defend herself.

Li was given a three-year jail sentence suspended for five years last week.

"The court is convinced of the fact that the defendant has spent great energy and money on the victim, and the mounting psychological burden proved unbearable for her," the judge said in delivering the verdict.

Li's case has stirred up fervent debate among the public. "Li Daohong is forgivable emotionally, but it is not tolerable according to the law", a netizen calling himself "Xiyang" wrote.

Liao Fei, associate professor of social psychology at Renmin University of China, noted that social attention should be drawn to the disabled as well as their families.

"The families need not only material aid, but also psychological support. The tragedy could have been avoided if Li Daohong had been helped," Liao said.