34yrs old gambling obsessed Nanny, sentenced to death after killing mother and her three children (Details, pics)

A gambling-obsessed nanny who lost £6,800 in one night was sentenced to death today after setting her employer's flat on fire during her desperate attempt to find money for her debts, according to a Chinese court.

The blaze caused a mother and all of her three children - aged between six and 11 - to be killed last June at their 17th floor home in eastern China.

The court said the former nanny, named Mo Huanjing, had intended to set the fire then put it out, hoping her 'brave act' could win her middle-class employer's gratitude. This way, she could expect them to lend money to her. However, the fire went out of control killing the family of four during the wee hours at their four-bedroom home in Hangzhou, a bustling metropolis.

The children's father was reportedly on a business trip, hence survived the tragedy. The nanny managed to escape the fire. The court claimed that Ms Mo was addicted to online gambling games and had been buried under debts.

She lost £6,800 after gambling online from the night of June 21 into the early hours of June 22 - right before she decided to set the flat on fire - said the court. The 34-year-old woman is originally from Dongguan, southern China, and she left her hometown in 2015 to dodge gambling debts, according to a previous report from Xinhua New Agency.

Before setting the family's home on fire, she had stolen luxury watches and jewellery from the family on several occasions before pawning them off for 180,000 yuan (£20,000), said the court.

She was sentenced to death by a first instance judgment at the Hangzhou Intermediate People's Court, according to People's Daily Online, citing a court report. Ms Mo was found guilty of arson on February 9.According to a video of the sentencing, shared by Chinese new site Sina, Ms Mo remained silent throughout the process.

In addition, the court also found Ms Mo guilty of theft and sentenced her to five year in jail alongside a fine of 10,000 yuan (£1,142).The court said she had repeatedly stolen from her employers while working as a nanny in nearby Shanghai and Shaoxing during 2015 and 2016

The court said considering both sentences, it decided to give Ms Mo a death penalty, deprivation of political rights and a fine of 10,000 yuan (£1,142).

The court has not proposed a date of the execution.