Article content

BEIJING — A Chinese court sentenced a nanny to death Friday for setting a fire that killed three children and their mother, in a case that has prompted a national discussion about greed, trust, inequality and neglect.

The nanny, Mo Huanjing, 35, was convicted of arson for igniting her employer’s apartment in June. Authorities said Mo, who had more than $9,500 in gambling debt, had planned to start a fire and then extinguish it, hoping that the family would reward her financially for coming to their rescue.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or A nanny set a fire so she could extinguish it for a reward. Instead, she killed four and was sentenced to death Back to video

In its decision Friday, the Hangzhou Intermediate People’s Court in eastern China called Mo’s motive “despicable” and said that she had “seriously damaged public security and caused social harm.”

The devil finally got punished by the law

The father of the children, Lin Shengbin, who was away on a business trip at the time of the fire, attended the sentencing Friday. On his blog, titled “Wife and Children in Heaven,” he praised the court’s decision.