Li Lei at the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court yesterday.

A MAN in Beijing was sentenced to death for murdering six family members and ordered to pay 3.43 million yuan (US$516,000) compensation, a court said yesterday.

Li Lei, 30, stabbed his wife, younger sister, parents and two sons to death at their home in Huangcun Town in Beijing's Daxing District in 2009, according to China National Radio.

The Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court announced the death sentence, deprived his political rights for life, and ordered Li to pay 3.43 million yuan compensation to the victims' family: his two grandmothers and the parents of his wife.

Li found family conflicts difficult and committed the atrocity in a brutal way that shocked the whole country, the court said. His lawyer has not said if Li will appeal.

Li was arrested in Sanya in southern China's Hainan Province in November, a week after the murders.

Li remained calm while the judge handed down the verdict, without showing any facial expression or looking to his relatives, CNR reported.

Li had a fight with his wife for reasons that he couldn't remember, he lashed out in anger and stabbed his wife with a knife.

He is said to have sat on the bed for a while before stabbing his younger sister in another room. Li then killed his parents after they returned home. His final act was to kill his two sons, Li said in a trial in August.

A psychiatric assessment report submitted to the court said Li was free of mental problems when he committed the crime and is competent to take criminalresponsibility for his actions, the Beijing Municipal People's Procuratorate said during the trial.

• yesterday [´jestədi] n.&ad.昨天；前不久 (初中英语单词)
• sentence [´sentəns] n.判决 vt.宣判；处刑 (初中英语单词)
• lawyer [´lɔ:jə] n.律师；法学家 (初中英语单词)
• province [´prɔvins] n.省；领域；范围 (初中英语单词)
• mental [´mentl] a.精神的；心理的 (初中英语单词)
• criminal [´kriminəl] a.犯罪的 n.罪犯 (初中英语单词)
• responsibility [ri,spɔnsə´biliti] n.责任(心)；职责；任务 (初中英语单词)
• compensation [,kɔmpen´seiʃən] n.补偿，赔偿 (高中英语单词)
• appeal [ə´pi:l] vi.&n.请求；呼吁；上诉 (高中英语单词)
• competent [´kɔmpitənt] a.能干的，有资格的 (高中英语单词)
• municipal [mju:´nisipəl] a.市政的；地方性的 (高中英语单词)
• brutal [´bru:tl] a.兽性的；残暴的 (英语四级单词)
• verdict [´və:dikt] n.裁决，判决；判定 (英语四级单词)
• intermediate [,intə´mi:diət] a.中间的 (英语六级单词)
• facial [´feiʃəl] a.面部的，脸部的 (英语六级单词)
• august [ɔ:´gʌst] a.尊严的；威严的 (英语六级单词)