Ten people died after a banned rat poison was deliberately put into food for guests at a rural funeral on Tuesday in Lichuan in central China's Hubei Province.

Police have confirmed that the widow of the man whom the funeral was for was the perpetrator.

The accused, surnamed Chen, said that she put the rat poison into the food with the intention of making her relationship with her son and daughter-in-law more intimate, but did not intend to cause any deaths.

She said she hoped that her son and daughter-in-law would ask for her advice when the poisoned guests asked for compensation, thus giving her a chance to strengthen their relationship.

Altogether 33 people fell seriously ill after the meal at the home of villager Zhu Fabin at noon on Tuesday. They had all attended the same funeral.

Police investigations and hospital tests confirmed that the victims, included 23 who were hospitalized, had consumed Dushuqiang, production and sale of which is banned in China.

The dead, including one child and four women, are all from Huaping Village, in the city of Lichuan.

Experts dispatched by the Ministry of Public Health reached Lichuan on Thursday night and all the victims in hospital were reported to be stable.

Three-year-old Zhu Bingkun, the youngest of the survivors of the poisoning, had recovered and could move around with the help of his family.

In most rural areas in China, fellow villagers attend funerals as helpers and the host feeds them for the day.

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