A 70-year-old man in Wuhan, Hubei province, was recently sentenced to four years for allegedly killing his wife who was suffering from cancer, Wuhan Morning News reported on Monday.

On March 5, the man's wife, 67, was diagnosed with advanced sigmoid colon cancer and could not receive an operation as she had a heart condition.

According to the man, his wife asked him to "take her to the river" because the pain of her condition was too much for her to bear.

On April 14, a fisherman reported to police that he saw a man pushing a woman on a quilt into a nearby river.

Police responded at the scene and discovered the woman drowned.

They recovered her body from the water, and the man was detained.

While on trial, the man reportedly said he only meant to relieve his wife of her pain.

As the old man was disabled, the court allowed the man to serve his sentence outside prison.