Mother gets 15 years for beating daughter to death

By Li Xinran  |   2008-12-12  |     ONLINE EDITION

A MOTHER was sentenced to 15 years in prison after she was found guilty of beating her daughter to death for donating money to earthquake victims in Sichuan Province.

The woman beat her 13-year-old daughter with a rolling pin and the girl died of internal bleeding en route to hospital on May 19, Suqian Intermediate People's Court ruled recently in Suqian City, Jiangsu Province, according to Yangtze Evening News

The girl's father told the newspaper yesterday that he would appeal on behalf of his daughter as he thought the punishment was too light.

The girl asked her family for 40 yuan (US$5.50) and contributed the money as well as some clothing at a donation spot a few days after a massive earthquake devastated Sichuan on May 12.

On May 18, her teacher asked students to donate some pocket money to help people in disaster-hit areas.

The girl asked her mother to sponsor her again the next day. Her mother scolded her and used a rolling pin to beat her. The girl tried to explain why she wanted the money, but her mother refused to stop the beating, according to the report. She died about 6pm on the way to hospital.

Chinese and foreign donors have contributed cash and goods worth about 75.2 billion yuan for relief and rehabilitation as of November 25, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs. About 24.3 billion yuan in cash and goods worth about 94.6 billion yuan have been donated, the ministry said.

The May 12 earthquake, centered in Sichuan's Wenchuan County, killed nearly 70,000 people. About 18,000 people were reported missing.

It was the worst earthquake in China since Tangshan City, Hebei Province, was flattened in 1976.