Court says confession, remorse not enough for lenient sentence

A man who killed 19 people, including his parents and a 3-year-old, was sentenced to death on Friday, according to a local court in Yunnan province.

The Qujing Intermediate People's Court found Yang Qingpei guilty of murdering his parents at home in Yema village on Sept 28 after they refused his request for money to pay back his debt and blamed him for his situation.

The 28-year-old then killed 17 of his neighbors from six families, including three children, with a pickax fearing they would discover his crime, according to the court.

Ages of the victims range from 3 to 72. Eight of them were female.

The man fled to Yunnan's provincial capital Kunming and was arrested by local police the following day.

The Ministry of Public Security sent a team led by a senior officer to guide the investigation into the case.

Yang confessed and showed repentance, but that wasn't enough for the court to hand down a lenient sentence considering the severe consequences of his brutal crime, the court said.

According to media reports, Yang, who was married, worked in Kunming for years and fell into debt as a result of gambling.

Two seniors were found dead first, and local police were investigating the case when they found the bodies of the other 17, China News Service reported.

Yang accepted the sentence and said he will not appeal.

He pleaded guilty to all charges, expressed remorse and apologized to the relatives of the deceased when he stood trial on July 19, which was witnessed by 200 spectators including relatives, lawmakers, media and members of the public.

Relatives of the victims have withdrawn their appeals for civil compensation as the local government has "properly" dealt with the aftermath of the incident, China Central Television reported on Friday.