A mother of four fed her children pesticide and then hacked them to death because she could not afford to feed them, Metro UK reported.
After Yang Gailan, 28, murdered her children outside their home in Agushan, China, she committed suicide by also drinking pesticide, police said.
After arriving home from work, Ms Yang’s husband, Li Keying, also took poison and killed himself.
The family are believed to have been living in poverty and the children were not covered by national medical insurance. Metro UK added.
They were also not allowed to attend schools as they were not registered on the nation’s Hukou residence system until last year.
According to local media, the children were not allowed to attend public schools because they were not registered with the government. The family was also excluded from China’s poverty relief scheme and had to survive on crops.
Ms Yang’s story gained national attention and it was the most searched subject on Chinese social network Weibo.
One person wrote: ‘What’s more terrifying than poverty is the loss of hope and faith. That is the extreme desperation of helplessness.’
Some criticised Yang Gailan, calling her a murderer.
Others see the tragedy as a reminder to be grateful. One person writes, “I’m reminded of a line from The Great Gatsby, to not carelessly criticize others, because not everyone’s conditions are as good as your own.”
According to the World Bank, China still has more than 200 million people living under the poverty line despite the government promising to tackle it.
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