A man who hacked to death a woman and four children with a firewood chopper last April in a village in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region has been executed, local authorities announced on Sunday.

The 52-year-old man Liang Jiqian also seriously injured two other children on the evening of April 28 last year in Yingxue Village of Napeng Town, the Higher People's Court of Guangxi heard.

His victims were a 38-year-old woman and four children aged between three and ten. The victims were not related.

Liang confessed that he committed the crime out of frustration and revenge. He said he had endured a difficult life caring for his handicapped son following the death of his wife the previous year and his teenage son was often jeered and bullied by fellow villagers.

Liang was executed on Friday, a spokesman with the court said, noting that the death penalty had been approved by the Supreme People's Court.

(Xinhua News Agency January 22, 2007)