THE mother of the dead wife of a mercy killer had not buried her daughter s body and was yet to decide whether to appeal Thursday s court ruling.
The mercy killer, Wen Yuzhang, was sentenced to a three-year suspended jail term for unplugging Hu Jing s life support as she lay in a coma at Shenzhen No. 2 People s Hospital.
The expenses of keeping the body had already amounted to 60,000 yuan (US$9,000), according to media reports.
Two other lawsuits concerning Hu s inheritance and the hospital s compensation filed by Xiao Guilian, Hu s mother, are yet to be heard.
Xiao claimed the couple owned total assets of about 20 million yuan, most of which was demolition compensation for Wen s family estate in Gangxia Village, Futian District.
Wen was deprived of the right to inherit Hu s assets when he was found guilty, said Xiao s lawyer identified by his surname, Zhu.
Hu s assets will be inherited by Xiao and Hu s two children, said Zhu.
At a hearing in January, Wen said he did not want to see his wife suffer any longer and that he acted out of love and respect for her wish to give up further treatment.
Hu could not live without artificial life support.
The case caused spirited debate about mercy killings, which usually involve a person suffering from a terminal illness or is brain dead.
Chen Zhengta, vice director of criminal law affairs of the Shenzhen Lawyers Association, said a three-year suspended jail term was common for mercy killing cases in China.
Wen was convicted because mercy killing was illegal in China, Chen said.
(Tina Chen)
