China Scene: East

Killer struck so that he would get death penalty

A 21-year-old man has been sentenced to death, suspended for two years, for the murder of an elderly woman - a crime he says he committed because he wanted to die.

Pei, as he was identified by police, was born in 1990 to a poor family in Hebei province. Detectives say he killed his victim in a village in Qingdao, Shandong province, on April 11, and was detained five days later. On his capture, he said he planned the crime so that a court would sentence him to death.