A 28-year-old unemployed man yesterday pleaded guilty in court to electrocuting his wife using a power cable in April.

Qiu Jianhua, who allegedly attempted suicide after killing his wife, told the Shanghai No 1 Intermediate People's Court that his wife, Song Qingqing, was having an affair with another man and was pushing him for a divorce.

"I loved her a lot and wanted to be with her. If we could no longer be together while alive, I wanted us to be together after death," he said in court.

At about 11pm on April 15, Qiu electrocuted his sleeping wife after plugging one end of an electrical cord into a power socket and attaching the other to a screwdriver and an electro-probe.

"I thought it (her death) would be fast and less painful," Qiu told the court.

Qiu then allegedly tried to kill himself by tightening the cord around his wrist.

"I wrapped the cord around my wrist tightly and lost consciousness," he said, adding that he came back to senses minutes later and then tried to slash his wrist using a sharp object.

Qiu then phoned his parents and told them that he was about to die.

His parents arrived at the scene and rushed him to a hospital.

Wu Genyuan, the lawyer representing Song's family, denied there was any affair between the victim and another man.

"There is no evidence to support the claim," he said.

Song's family has also asked for a compensation of more than 760,000 yuan.

The court has not reached a verdict yet.

(China Daily December 19, 2008)