Mother commits suicide 'over compensation fears'

A mother of three in South China committed suicide because she feared her husband's employer would not pay compensation for an injury he suffered at work, her son said.

Zheng Qiuhua, 57, died after drinking pesticide on May 11 in Zhongshan, Guangdong Province, Southern Metropolis Daily reported.

Just seven days earlier, her husband, street cleaner Wang Xinghua, suffered two broken legs when a car hit him as he was working.

The couple's son told reporters that the family believes Zheng took her life because the cleaning company, Zhongshan Zhongfu Cleaning Services, said on May 2 it would only pay 10,000 yuan ($1,580) in compensation.

"My mother was worried the company would not take care of us, and that we wouldn't be able to support the family," the son, who was not identified, was quoted as saying.

He said his mother had insomnia during the days before her death. "We told her it would be OK, but she didn't listen to us," he added.

A spokesman surnamed Luo for Zhongshan Zhongfu Cleaning Services denied the company had shirked its responsibility, adding that it had hired a nurse for Wang and covered some medical expenses.

Zheng raised three children alone after her ex-husband died when she was 36. She married Wang in 2000 and also worked as a street cleaner in Zhongshan. Her salary was less than 800 yuan a month.