Mother on trial for poisoning paralyzed twins

A mother from a village in Luyi city, Henan province, has gone on trial for poisoning her 20-year-old twin sons last year, the Beijing News reported Monday.

Wu Wenying, 47, turned herself in to police 10 months after intentionally poisoning and killing the paralyzed twins, who both suffered from cerebral palsy.

Wu said one of the boys had asked to be poisoned to lift the burden on the family, so she gave them a bottle of pesticide. She said she also thought of committing suicide, but was reluctant to do so because she has two other young children to care for.

The poisoning came only a month after Wu told a local newspaper that she would raise the twins as long as she lives.

Wu, whose hair is completely white, has had a hard life since the birth of the twins, who she refused to give away, villagers said. Three reports in a local newspaper hadn't brought much help to the impoverished family, they added.

Requests to village leaders for assistance had also gone unanswered.

The twins should have been scheduled to join a rehabilitation program for disabled children in Henan province, but for unknown reasons they were turned down by the Association for the Handicapped.

Wu's despair was also driven by her abusive husband, who was known to beat her.

A judge in the trial said his heart sank when faced with such a sorrowful mother.

The whole village was mostly silent when the poisoning happened, but some said they would appeal to the court to have mercy on Wu.