Netizens are blaming poverty for the murder-suicide of a Chinese family in the rural province of Gansu where a mother reportedly murdered her four children and ended her own life.
The severe case of poverty in a small village located in northwest China's Gansu province was highlighted after reports of a mother killing her own children with an axe and pesticide emerged.
According to CRI English, Yang Gailan, the 28-year-old mother of four children aged between three and six years old, decided that it would be better to end her children's life instead of striving in one that is filled with misery.
After killing the four youngsters, Yang committed suicide. Her husband, Li Keying, was also found dead on September 6 due to poisoning after burying his children and wife, the Global Times reported.
According to the outlet, the family lived an impoverished life in the Agushan village in Kangle county in Gansu Province where they were reportedly denied their low-income allowance.
Citing Shanghai TV, the Global Times revealed that the village cadres removed the family's "low-income family" status after Yang Manshan (Yang's father) and her grandmother Yan Lanfang refused to give bribe.
Because of this, netizens deemed poverty as the "main suspect" in the death of the family of six, with analysts describing the news as a wakeup call for the government.
"This case serves as a warning to the public and government that while some enjoy a good life in cities, China is still a developing country with an unbalanced development," explained Beijing Institute of Technology professor Hu Xingdou who is also an expert on China's social problems.
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences expert on rural development Dang Guoying explained that the incident was a shock to those who live in urban areas who were not aware that such situation exists in the rural parts of China.
"This case shocked urban Chinese people living in developed eastern cities because most of us cannot imagine that millions of Chinese people still live in poverty in rural areas, especially in a country with the world's second-largest economy," he said.