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Mom who killed sick child avoids jail
Woman admitted poisoning, smothering mentally ill 20-year-old daughter
The Associated Press
Oct. 31, 2008


BEIJING - A Chinese mother who admitted poisoning and smothering her
mentally ill daughter to death has been spared a jail sentence, state
media reported Friday.

Li Daohong fed her 20-year-old daughter, who suffered from brain
paralysis, more than 200 sleeping pills in a Beijing hotel before
smothering her with towels and a quilt while she was asleep, the
official Xinhua News Agency said.

The case was a rare public look at the difficulties of caring for the
mentally ill in China, a subject that remains taboo in much of the
country.

A Beijing court gave Li, 47, a villager from eastern Jiangsu province,
a three-year jail sentence suspended for five years, Xinhua said. That
means if she shows good behavior for the five years she will not have
to serve the sentence.

"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, according to Xinhua.

Li had spent all her money taking her daughter around China seeking
treatment.

The family depended on the wages of Li's husband, who repairs
bicycles, Xinhua said, and could not afford a lawyer.

"I was afraid I would no longer be able to look after my daughter as
I'm getting old," Xinhua quoted Li as saying in court. Li's neighbors
had sent a joint letter to the court asking for mercy, it said.