Live online on Thursday: A mother stands trial for killing her disabled twin sons at a central Guangdong Province city.

The first of its kind, the trial at Dongguan No.1 People's Court will be broadcast from beginning to end on weibo.com, a microblogging site, in response to public fascination with the poignant case, according to ifeng.com.

Several thousand mothers had wanted to attend the trial in a courtroom with space for about 100 people, ifeng.com reported on Tuesday.

Han Qunfeng stands accused of murdering in November her twin 13-year-old sons – both born premature with cerebral palsy.

The 37-year-old Dongguan bank worker-turned-housewife gave her sons water laced with sleeping pills before drowning them in the bathtub. She then drank pesticide and rat poison, Guangzhou Daily reported on May 17. Han was found and saved.

"I never gave up looking after them and sending them to hospital for treatment," Han said at a hearing, China Daily reported on May 18, "but I didn't see any hope that they would recover from the disease.

"I just wanted them to leave quietly so I let them take sleeping pills," she said.

More than 1,000 mothers across the country have appealed for leniency to the court, with thousands of Web users signing a petition, according to ifeng.com.

The letter asserts a government-backed rehabilitation center should not only help take care of physically and mentally challenged children, but also launch programs to aid parents build up their faith in their children.

The letter also suggested setting up birth insurance for disabled children, a way of offering financial support to families with disabled children.

The court announced on its own weibo account that it welcomed comments from Internet users, but reiterated its judgment would be made according to the law. The court also promised to protect the privacy of all trial participants.

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