A 44-year-old charged with killing three people in Jiangxi province said during his trial on Monday that he regretted the killings and was prepared to pay for them with his life.

Zeng Chunliang, from Jiangxi's Le'an county, was charged with killing an elderly couple and injuring a child in the county on Aug 8 and was also charged with killing a local poverty relief official five days later.

At a public hearing at the province's Yichun Intermediate People's Court on Monday, Zeng was charged with four counts of intentional homicide, as well as robbery and burglary.

Zeng said he regretted his actions and asked for the death penalty.

The court said Zeng heard police were looking for him after he committed a burglary on July 21 in the house of Kang Shuaiguo in Le'an and wanted to get revenge because he thought Kang had called the police.

Instead of killing Kang, who was not at his house on Aug 8, Zeng killed Kang's parents, who were sleeping there. He also seriously injured Kang's nephew and stole watches, silver bracelets and other items.

After fleeing the scene, Zeng planned to kill Hao Yuanping, a local poverty relief official who Zeng believed did not support his plan to open a quarry. But instead of killing his original target, Zeng killed Gui Gaoping, a colleague of Hao, in their office on Aug 13.

Zeng also stole two motorcycles and one motorized tricycle while at large.

He was captured by police on Aug 16 after a search lasting more than a week in the countryside, including mountainous areas.

Over 4,000 security officers, armed police and militia were involved in the search, and the reward for information leading to his arrest was raised to 300,000 yuan ($45,800).

ThePaper.cn, an online news portal, said Zeng was imprisoned for theft in 2002 and 2013, and was released in May.

According to evidence presented by the prosecutor during the trial, Zeng thought killing Kang's parents was the same as killing Kang, and that after he killed the parents he felt it did not matter if he killed one more, so he tried to kill the 7-year-old boy.

The child survived but suffered severe brain injuries.

The prosecutor also said Zeng's mental state was normal and his ability to recognize and control his actions was intact when he committed the crimes. The court said it will deliver its verdict later.